MARSHALS TASK FORCE ARREST ESCAPED
MURDERER AFTER TWENTY THREE YEARS ON THE RUN
The U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional
Fugitive Task Force arrested Bennie V. Stephens in Aliceville, AL
early this morning. The Marshals had determined that Stephens was
actually Gerald Raye Campbell who was wanted for escape from the
Alabama Department of Corrections. Campbell was convicted in 1978
and sentenced to life in prison for the shooting death of his wife.
“The Alabama Department of Corrections is a member of the Gulf Coast
Regional Fugitive Task Force, one of our goals is to locate and
arrest violent fugitives wanted by their agency. We received this
case in March and assigned it to one of our task force officers for
investigation. Excellent investigative work by the agent turned up
information that Campbell had assumed a new identity in 1985.
Campbell became Bennie V. Stephens in 1985 and lived under that
identity. We determined that Campbell/Stephens had been living in
the Aliceville, AL area since 1990”, said U.S. Marshal Jesse Seroyer.
“Once we determined his location we contacted the Task Force Office
in Birmingham and provided them with the information. Their officers
were able to arrest Campbell/ Stephens at his residence in
Aliceville, AL this morning. I understand that he offered no
resistance and was placed in the Tuscaloosa County Jail”, added
Marshal Seroyer.
Campbell was convicted in 1978 for the shooting death of his wife,
Linda Gaye Campbell at her workplace in Huntsville, AL. Reports from
the original investigation indicate that Campbell and his wife were
separated at the time of the shooting. Campbell went to her
workplace and shot his wife two times in the parking lot. He was
convicted of 1st degree murder in 1978 in Madison County, AL and
sentenced to life. Campbell served six years before escaping in
1984.
According to Task Force Officer Anthony Birmingham, the agent
assigned to the case, Campbell succeeded in remaining a fugitive for
so long because he stayed out of trouble. Campbell/Stephens has
apparently remarried and started a small business in the Aliceville
area. “I guess he thought he would never be found. Since all we do
is search for violent fugitives we knew that this case was a
priority. We put a lot of effort in this case and it’s a good
feeling to know that he’ll finally serve his sentence. I hope this
brings some peace to the family of the victim to know that he’s now
in custody”, added Birmingham.
Mike Richards the Commander of the Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task
Force headquartered in Birmingham said, “This is a great example of
what our task force was created to do. We have a group of excellent
investigators from our state and local partners who work tirelessly
to pursue violent fugitives. The Task Force officers in Montgomery
did an excellent job in determining the possible location of
Campbell and our officers here did an outstanding job in capturing
Campbell. Cold cases are difficult ones to work and solving one
twenty three years old shows what federal, state and local officers
can do working together. Since the creation of the Gulf Coast
Regional Fugitive Task Force in July 2006 we have cleared 2,423
outstanding warrants involving violent fugitives. We’re very proud
of that record.”
The Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force is a team comprised of
U.S. Marshals and state and local law enforcement officers in
Alabama and Mississippi. The task force objective is to seek out and
arrest fugitives wanted for crimes of violence and any charges
involving sexual assaults on children. Last year, U.S. Marshals task
forces arrested more than 27,000 state and local fugitives on felony
charges.
Additional information about the U.S.
Marshals can be found at
http://www.usmarshals.gov. |