Police

Missouri fugitive released from Suffolk County jail

Riverhead Police Car

A man arrested on a nearly eight-year-old arrest warrant for five felony tampering charges in Missouri was released from Suffolk County jail last week after officials said his extradition was limited to adjacent states only, authorities said.

Rocko Fowler, 25, was spotted acting suspiciously by a patrol officer on Lincoln Street about 12:30 a.m. Thursday, according to a police report. The officer stopped Mr. Fowler and checked his name for arrest warrants, police said.

The officer found the active felony warrant out of Jackson County, Mo. and arrested Mr. Fowler at the scene, according to a police report.

ORIGINAL STORY: Missouri fugitive found living in Riverhead

In Missouri, Mr. Fowler faces four counts of first-degree tampering with a vehicle, a class C felony, and one count of first-degree property damage, a class D felony, according to court records.

Court officials said Mr. Fowler and a group of juveniles stole school buses from a Missouri high school in August 2004 when Mr. Fowler was 17 years old. The warrant for Mr. Fowler’s arrest was issued on March 18, 2005, online court records show.

At the time of the warrant being issued, Mr. Fowler was listed as living in Nixa, Mo., a suburb about five miles south of Springfield. Riverhead Town police said Mr. Fowler had been living in Riverhead at the time of his arrest early Thursday morning.

Mr. Fowler was held after his arrest to be extradited back to Missouri to face the charges, police said. He was taken to the Suffolk County jail, but was later discharged that day, jail officials said.

Though Mr. Fowler was not extradited to Missouri because his highest charge, a class D felony, limits extraditions to adjacent states, the charges are still pending in that state, Missouri court officials said.

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