An alert, anonymous citizen helped the U.S. Marshals arrest a man suspected of rape earlier this morning.
Last week, the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force featured Bobby Thomas as its fugitive of the week. Thomas, 39, was wanted by the Lakewood Police Department for rape and kidnapping. According to a release from the task force, Thomas allegedly raped a child under the age of 14 multiple times between August and October 2012.
The release notes that the U.S. Marshals received a number of tips regarding Thomas since he was featured, but none led them to his current location. At about 8:40 a.m. on Wednesday, the U.S. Marshals received an anonymous text that said Thomas was hiding in a home near the 3200 block of West 73rd Street in Cleveland. Police found him hiding in a closet. He was immediately taken to the nearby Lakewood jail and booked on a warrant.
According to the release from the task force, the Marshal’s office in Northern Ohio was the first to begin accepting anonymous text tips. The program began in December 2011 and has led to a number of big arrests.
Click here to see all of the task force’s fugitives of the week. If you have information on any of them, call the task force at 1-866-4WANTED, or text a tip to 847411 (tip411), keyword WANTED.
