Task force finds fugitive

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Members of the U.S. Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force arrested a fugitive accused of beating his probation officer last month in Norwalk then fleeing to the city.

Task force members arrested William G. Brown, 42, Wednesday morning at a residence in the 3200 block of Hermosa Drive on the city’s West Side.

Brown was wanted by the Norwalk Police Department for felonious assault on a probation officer, wanted by the Richland County Sheriff’s Office on a bench warrant for violating the terms of his bond on a current felony-eluding case, and wanted by the state of Louisiana for violating his parole.

Brown originally was arrested March 12 after leading the Ohio State Highway Patrol on a high-speed pursuit after a traffic stop in Richland County.

He later was released on bond, placed under the supervision of the Richland County Probation Department, and directed to live at his mother’s house in Norwalk.

On March 25, Brown reportedly assaulted his probation officer during a home visit at the Norwalk residence and fled the scene in a vehicle.

The task force’s Lorain and Richland County divisions immediately started working together to initiate a fugitive investigation into Brown’s whereabouts, the marshals said in a press release.

That investigation led to Youngstown, where Brown grew up and his family currently lives.

Over the course of a week, task force officers interviewed Brown’s friends and family members and developed information that led them to the Hermosa Drive house.

Members of the task force’s Youngstown and Richland County divisions found Brown at the residence attempting to hide in the attic.