2 Wanted Fugitives Turned Over to U.S. Authorities at Buffalo Border Crossing

June 29, 2010 - Lewiston, NY– U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Field Operations announced the arrest of two United States citizens wanted in North Carolina on a violent assault case.

On June 26, CBP officers received notification from Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) that 22- year-old Anthony Bell and 23-year-old Elias Martin, both United States citizens from Georgia, were being deported from Canada and returned to the United States. The two subjects, who were accompanied by two female juveniles, advised CBSA that they arrived in Canada by accident, as they wanted to see Niagara Falls, but made a wrong turn. Record checks by CBSA revealed that the two men may have active arrest warrants in the United States and that the two females were listed as missing persons. The group was believed to have participated in a violent assault in Mooresville, NC and fled the area shortly thereafter. CBSA also advised that the vehicle being used by the group was reported stolen and may contain evidence of the crime. All four persons and the vehicle were subsequently removed from Canada by CBSA and returned to the United States via the Lewiston Bridge border crossing in Lewiston , NY.

Upon their removal to the United States, CBP officers performed additional record checks and verified that both Martin and Bell were in fact subjects of felony, no bond warrants issued by the Mooresville, NC Police Department on June 25, 2010. The warrants charge both men with assault serious bodily injury, common law robbery, breaking and/or entering, larceny after break/enter and injury to real property. Both subjects are also wanted for sexual assault- Carnal abuse issued by the Lumpkin Co. Sheriff’s Department in Dahlonega GA.

CBP officers verified the validity of both warrants and confirmed the extradition. Both Bell and Martin were arrested by CBP and turned over to the custody of the New York State Police pending extradition to North Carolina. The two juvenile females, ages 16 and 17 years old, were also turned over to the New York State Police to be reunited with family in Georgia. The stolen vehicle, which was preserved by CBP as a possible crime scene, was transferred to the New York State Police as evidence.