Published: April 08, 2008 05:40 pm      

JPD arrests federal fugitive

By Kelly Young

kyoung@jacksonvilleprogress.com

A suspicious person call received by the Jacksonville Police Department, Monday evening, resulted in the arrest of a federal fugitive wanted by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms. Stephen L. Jackson, 49, of Wentworth, Mo., was taken into custody after fleeing from local police and refusing to identify himself. He was wanted by ATF on weapons charges.

“Officer (Austin) Faulkner was dispatched to a suspicious person call in the 300 block of Main Street, at approximately 11:30 p.m., Monday night,” said Detective Jason Price. “Upon arrival, Officer Faulkner observed two individuals standing between two buildings.”

As the officer approached the two men, one of the individuals fled northbound on Main Street. Faulkner then made contact with the suspect who had remained at the location, and attempted to identify him.

“The subject refused to give any information to Officer Faulkner,” Price said. “The subject was advised of the laws pertaining to identifying one’s self, and the subject continued to refuse to give the his name and date of birth.”

The suspect was handcuffed and taken to the police department for processing without incident. The suspect who had fled the scene was later located by Officer Darrell Hollis at 211 S. Ragsdale Street. This individual also refused to identify himself, even after being made aware of the law.

Like his counterpart, this suspect was also taken to the department without incident. While in custody, JPD was able to identify the two men as Jackson, and David George Bough, a 64-year-old white male from St. Louis, Mo.

“Both men claimed that due to their affiliation with the House of Israel, they were not subject to the laws of the United States and therefore failed to comply with the officer’s legal instructions,” Price said.

Jackson was found to have an outstanding ATF warrant and a warrant from the Newton County Sheriff’s Office in Mo. for unlawful possession of a prohibited weapon. He was held in the city jail overnight, and was transferred into the custody of ATF agents Tuesday afternoon.

“Jackson and Bough were both charged with failure to identify to a peace officer, which is a class-C misdemeanor. Bough was charged and released,” Price said.

At this time it is uncertain what the men were doing in Jacksonville, but Price said it is possible they were visiting the House of Israel temple located in Jacksonville, on the same block where they were originally sited. Prior to Monday’s arrests, JPD has had no previous experience with either suspect.