Saturday, September 9, 2006

Ralph Bucky Phillips, a long-time New York fugitive, has been caught. He was arrested on Friday in Warren County, Pennsylvania at about 8:15 pm ET. He was unarmed and unhurt when he surrendered. The police had cornered him in a field just over the Pennsylvania border. The police had moved closer to Phillips. Just before nightfall, 25 SWAT officers and 12 dogs swept through a field where he was suspected to be hiding. He gave up at around 8:00 pm local time. Phillips surrendered, with his hands up in the air.

“A few of my guys had spotted him in an open field, the helicopter zeroed in on him,” said Lenny DePaul, commanding officer of the US Marshals Service fugitive task force. “Very good news,” he said.

Friday’s search started just before 2:00 am.

Phillips looked dirty and exhausted in a photo of him in the back of the police car. He spoke with one-word answers, answering “yes” when asked if he was Ralph Phillips, and also if he had received a copy of the federal complaint charging him with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

Phillips was taken to a jail in Buffalo. He will appear in court today, facing a charge of attempted murder in connection with the shooting of a state trooper on June 10.