After a massive manhunt that lasted nearly 16 hours, an Arizona murder suspect who escaped police Thursday morning near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is back in custody.
J’Saan Carlos Strover was arrested about 11:30 p.m. after being spotted by a television news reporter who was covering his escape.
A Channel 2 Action News reporter saw the man dart into some bushes in the College Park area, not far from where he first went missing. Police were called and Strover was quickly surrounded and taken into custody, the news station reported.
“Tonight, College Park police received a tip of a man fitting Strover’s description seen walking down the street, barefoot with his hands behind his back,” the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter. “A patrol unit spotted the fugitive and he ran into the woods. Police used night vision technology to locate the 20-year-old.”
He was taken to the Fulton County Jail until Maricopa County, Arizona, deputies could arrange for his transport back to Phoenix.
Helicopters circled the area near the airport for much of Thursday and police K-9s scoured the woods as multiple law enforcement agencies searched for Strover, who managed to escape police custody ahead of a flight to Arizona.
Officials said Strover was shackled at the waist and handcuffed in front of his body when he ran from two deputies at a rental car facility adjacent to the airport and disappeared into a nearby wood line about 7:15 a.m.
He is wanted in Maricopa County on murder and aggravated assault charges in connection with a Feb. 19 double shooting that left one man dead and another injured at a Phoenix bar, Arizona-based AZfamily.com reported. The man killed was identified by authorities as 32-year-old Walter Wood.
Strover had been in custody at the Fulton County Jail since his April 12 arrest during a raid at a Sandy Springs apartment complex. Authorities learned he was hiding at an apartment there and executed a search warrant, Sandy Springs police Sgt. Salvador Ortega confirmed. He was taken into custody by Sandy Springs detectives, U.S. marshals and Phoenix police detectives.
“SSPD’s role was to assist with the execution of the search warrant and of the murder warrant,” Ortega said. “He was then handed over to Phoenix PD homicide detectives.”
Strover was in the custody of two Maricopa deputies Thursday when authorities said they removed his leg restraints so he could walk down a set of stairs.
“At the time, there were two Maricopa County deputies with him,” Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat told reporters Thursday afternoon. “At the point that they proceeded out, they removed the leg restraints to escort him down the steps and at that point he pushed past them.”
In a statement, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said Strover escaped while walking to a tram connecting them to the airport. The two deputies chased him into the woods, but he managed to evade police for most of the day before finally being captured.
Credit: CHRISTINA MATACOTTA FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION.
Credit: CHRISTINA MATACOTTA FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION.
Operations at Hartsfield-Jackson were not impacted by Thursday’s escape and subsequent manhunt, an airport spokesman said.
The Maricopa sheriff’s office said the agency will conduct a review of the incident to determine which factors contributed to Strover’s escape.
“Prior to picking up Jsaan Strover from the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, appropriate protocols were conducted regarding transfer of custody,” the department said, adding the agency is grateful to the metro Atlanta law enforcement agencies that took part in the search.
Credit: CHRISTINA MATACOTTA FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION.
Credit: CHRISTINA MATACOTTA FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION.
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