Eight years later, Missouri fugitive found living in Riverhead
Nearly eight years after Missouri authorities issued a warrant for his arrest on five felony tampering charges, a fugitive was found living in Riverhead early Thursday by an officer on patrol near Polish Town, Riverhead Town police 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.
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.
The alleged incident occurred in Aug. 2004 when Mr. Fowler was 17 years old, according to court records. The warrant for Mr. Fowler’s arrest was issued on Mar. 18, 2005, online court records show.
Additional information about the incident Mr. Fowler was arrested for was not immediately available.
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.
Court officials in Missouri could not be reached for comment due to the holiday weekend.
