Most Wanted Fugitive, Convicted Sex Offender Clyde Hall Jr Arrested in Portland, Maine

Adam Walsh Act Violator Failed to Report to Halfway House in Albany, NY

WASHINGTON – Deputy U.S. marshals today arrested 15 Most Wanted fugitive Clyde Hall Jr., a career sex offender who violated conditions of release and failed to register as a sex offender. Members of the United States Marshals Service’s Maine Violent Offender Task Force apprehended Hall without incident earlier this morning on Congress Street in Portland, Maine. The fugitive had been on the run since March 2012 and was added to the USMS 15 Most Wanted list Sept. 12, 2012, becoming the first person added to the list who had violated the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (AWA).

“Clyde Hall is a violent convicted sex offender who was a threat to innocent, law-abiding citizens,” said Director Stacia Hylton of the U.S. Marshals Service. “Deputy U.S. Marshals make it a priority each day to locate and apprehend sex offenders who fail to comply with state registry requirements designed to keep the public safe. Hall’s arrest today makes our communities safer.”

Hall was released from the Butner Federal Correctional Institution in North Carolina in March 2012, after serving a 25-month sentence based on his conviction in the Northern District of New York for violating the AWA as a convicted sex offender. Conditions of his release required him to report to a halfway house in Albany, N.Y. However, he failed to meet with his assigned probation officer and check in at the halfway house, prompting the issuance of an arrest warrant March 12, 2013.

U.S. Marshal David McNulty of the Northern District of New York said, “I want to express my sincere gratitude to the men and women of the U.S. Marshals Service in Northern New York and throughout the country who devoted countless hours to ensure this career sex offender was taken off the streets. Hopefully his apprehension will mean he never has the chance to victimize anyone ever again.”

Deputy U.S. marshals in Albany led the investigation which involved many USMS district and division offices, including the Maine task force. Investigative leads directed the deputies to Portland, where they scoured the city in search of Hall. Deputies and task force officers spotted a man matching his description, approached the individual, identified themselves as deputy marshals, and took Hall into custody without incident.

Deputy U.S. marshals booked and processed Hall in Portland, where he made an initial appearance before a federal magistrate judge. He awaits a return to Albany.

U.S. Marshal Noel March of the District of Maine said of the arrest, “If a fugitive chooses Maine to hide out, he’s made a big mistake. The men and women of our Maine Violent Offender Task Force make it their priority to investigate, locate and apprehend those who are wanted by the courts, regardless of the jurisdiction from which they are on the run.”

The ‘America’s Most Wanted’ television program featured Hall in June 2012 and detailed his violent, abusive history dating back to 1985. The state of New York labeled Hall a Tier III sex offender, its most dangerous sex offender classification.

The U.S. Marshals Service’s “15 Most Wanted” fugitive program draws attention to some of the country’s most dangerous and high-profile fugitives. These fugitives tend to be career criminals with histories of violence, and they pose a significant threat to public safety. Generally, “15 Most Wanted” fugitives are considered the “worst of the worst” and can include murderers, sex offenders, major drug kingpins, organized crime figures and individuals wanted for high-profile financial crimes. Since the program began in 1983, 225 “15 Most Wanted” fugitives have been arrested.