|
||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Phoenix FBI Special Agent in Charge John E. Lewis, announced today, December 7, 2007, the arrest of Walter Mitchell for Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution. On August 31, 1996, Mitchell abducted his live in girlfriend’s nine month old child in Phoenix, Arizona. On April 16, 1997, an arrest warrant was issued by Maricopa County Superior Court charging Mitchell with Custodial Interference, a class three felony. The Phoenix Police Department conducted the original investigation into this matter. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, assisted the FBI in acquiring an Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution Warrant. On July 2, 1997, a Federal warrant was issued for Mitchell by the United States District Court, District of Arizona. Subsequently, a fugitive investigation was initiated by the Phoenix Office of the FBI. On the evening of December 6, 2007, the FBI’s Violent Crime Task Force located Mitchell and the child at a residence in Glendale, Arizona. Mitchell was taken into custody without incident and transported to the 4 th Avenue Jail. The child was temporarily placed into the custody of Child Protective Services. The FBI’s Phoenix Violent Crime Task Force is comprised of the following Law Enforcement Agencies: Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, Mesa Police Department, Scottsdale Police Department and the FBI. The issuance of a criminal charge is an accusation only, and guilt or innocence will be determined by a court of law. |