Posted on 12/12/2006 6:01:54 AM PST by grjr21
The man in the Donovan McNabb jersey got to the Philadelphia Free Library's main branch at 9 a.m., as usual, and was seated at a public computer terminal, tapping away at his MySpace.com page, as usual.
So he did not notice that 15 armed officers were quietly converging on him.
That, authorities say, is how a fugitive wanted in Georgia and Massachusetts was captured last Thursday without a fight. They say they figured out that he had been going to the library regularly to update his MySpace page.
Darren Bates, 35, was using one of the library's computers about 9:15 a.m. Thursday when 15 plainclothes members of a fugitive task force converged on him as other patrons tapped away on nearby keyboards, officials said yesterday.
"He was busy on the computer and we were able to walk right up to him from several directions without him seeing us," said John Patrignani, supervisory deputy of the U.S. Marshals Service Violent Crimes Fugitive Task Force. "He was very much surprised."
Bates, who was wearing a McNabb jersey, was taken into custody without incident, Patrignani said. He was being held yesterday in a city jail cell pending extradition to Georgia.
Patrignani said task force members in Massachusetts had determined Bates was going to the Central Library at 1901 Vine St. about the same time every day - when the library opened at 9.
He said marshals found Bates the first day they went to see if he was there visiting MySpace, a popular site for social networking.
MySpace officials could not immediately be reached for comment, and a spokeswoman for the library said she did not know what role the institution may have played in the arrest.
Various law enforcement officials said yesterday they either did not know or could not say how they had tracked Bates to the MySpace site or to the library.
Patrignani and a Georgia officer involved in pursuing Bates said they did not know what was on Bates' MySpace page. Marshals said he went by the name Anthony Watson on the site.
Bates was being sought by police in two parts of rural Georgia. He is accused there of escaping from jail on an auto-theft charge in Hancock County and then going to nearby Baldwin County, where he allegedly broke into the home of an 88-year-old woman, beat her, and stole her car.
Bates already was being sought by police in New Bedford, Mass., for an alleged sexual assault.
"How he ended up in rural Hancock County, Georgia, I don't know," said Capt. Chris Spires of the Baldwin County, Ga., Sheriff's Department.
Baldwin County was particularly eager to catch up with Bates, who was the chief suspect in the home invasion and beating of the elderly woman.
In August, her stolen car turned up in Philadelphia. Authorities found Bates' fingerprints on it, and slowly began to close in.
Obama? Is that you?.........
It's a wonder the librarians allowed the authorities inside their library to catch this scum.
I hope there's more "reasonable suspicion" than this. Somebody desperately but diligently looking for a job, checking their email and monster.com first thing in the morning before businesses open, might eventually look up to see 15 cops closing in on him.
You can probably still update your MySpace page, just not at the same time and from the same physical location every day! That's just plain dumb. If he bought a laptop and went to different Panera Bread or Starbucks locations at different times of day, it would be tough to catch him.
On the other hand, this fellow seems like a really bad guy. Can't say I feel sorry for him.
D
I agree. However, the Philly libraries have had an increasing problem with crime in their buildings that has given them a lot of bad press. A little girl was raped and nearly killed in the restroom here about a year or so ago. And a little boy had a problem too. So knowing that they had a criminal regularly coming in must have made them nervous and they didn't need the publicity his criminal actions could have caused, particularly if it became public that they knew he had been coming there.
Or even worse, a live cow might be thrown upon him, upsetting his entire morning.
Sheesh. They knew it was him -- what more do you want?
LOL
In Ithaca, NY the library refused to allow the secret service in without a proper warrant.
A terror threat had been emailed to Brandeis University and traced to that library.
The librarian was sooo proud of herself for refusing to allow the Secret Service immediate access.
Any 35 y/o man wearing a football jersey of a pro player, should be arrested on the spot, on principle alone.
It IS sad, isn't it?
Now that's funny.
The Ithaca librarian said it was the proudest moment in her life.
No, just another steller example of an eagles fan.
If you are a fugutive on the run... why would you even HAVE a myspace page?
As a Cowboys fan, I heartily agree............
I can't even think about it. It makes me too angry.
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