James Crockett, Jr.
HUNTSVILLE -
JACKSON, Miss. -- A man being sought by police for allegedly using a stun gun in the rapes of three female college students was captured late Monday near Huntsville, Alabama after a multistate manhunt, law enforcement officials said.
T.J. Mobley, a detective with the Hattiesburg, Miss., police department, said federal, state and local authorities had been scrambling to find 37-year-old James H. Crockett, who was suspected in attacks on women in Mississippi and Louisiana.
"I can confirm that he was captured," Mobley said late Monday.
Mobley said Crockett, who has a lengthy criminal history, including convictions for grand larceny and burglary, was viewed as armed and dangerous.
In Hattiesburg he was wanted for a July 6 sexual assault in which he allegedly broke into a woman's apartment and used a stun gun and handcuffs to subdue her before the attack. He was wanted in a similar attack one day earlier in Baton Rouge, La.
Crockett is suspected in a third recent attack in Hammond, La., but authorities did not immediately return a message from The Associated Press seeking details. An alert from Crimestoppers, which is offering a $2,500 reward, says he's wanted for attempted aggravated assault and kidnapping in Hammond. At least two warrants have been issued for his arrest.
The manhunt encompassed several states in the South, said Justin Vickers, a supervisory inspector with the U.S. Marshals Service in Mississippi.
"He's a danger to our communities and we definitely need to get this guy off the streets as quickly as possible," Vickers said earlier Monday.
Authorities said Crockett had been living in Chalmette, La.
© Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
T.J. Mobley, a detective with the Hattiesburg, Miss., police department, said federal, state and local authorities had been scrambling to find 37-year-old James H. Crockett, who was suspected in attacks on women in Mississippi and Louisiana.
"I can confirm that he was captured," Mobley said late Monday.
Mobley said Crockett, who has a lengthy criminal history, including convictions for grand larceny and burglary, was viewed as armed and dangerous.
In Hattiesburg he was wanted for a July 6 sexual assault in which he allegedly broke into a woman's apartment and used a stun gun and handcuffs to subdue her before the attack. He was wanted in a similar attack one day earlier in Baton Rouge, La.
Crockett is suspected in a third recent attack in Hammond, La., but authorities did not immediately return a message from The Associated Press seeking details. An alert from Crimestoppers, which is offering a $2,500 reward, says he's wanted for attempted aggravated assault and kidnapping in Hammond. At least two warrants have been issued for his arrest.
The manhunt encompassed several states in the South, said Justin Vickers, a supervisory inspector with the U.S. Marshals Service in Mississippi.
"He's a danger to our communities and we definitely need to get this guy off the streets as quickly as possible," Vickers said earlier Monday.
Authorities said Crockett had been living in Chalmette, La.
© Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
