Following an exhaustive manhunt leading to a wooded area in
northeastern Pennsylvania, federal and state law enforcement
officers this morning nabbed the third suspect wanted for the early
Monday shooting of New York City Police Officers Russel Timoshenko
and Herman Yan.
Twenty members of the United States Marshals Service New York/New
Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force (NY/NJ RFTF), along with
Pennsylvania State Police, assisted to locate Robert Ellis, 34,
around 8:00 a.m. this morning in a wooded field off Interstate 80
near Bartonsville. Ellis’ arrest occurred about a half mile from
where another suspect in the shooting, Dexter Bostic, 34, was
captured Wednesday evening following a foot pursuit. An additional
suspect, Lee Woods, 29, was arrested Tuesday in New York.
As Bostic was chased down by Pennsylvania State Troopers, Ellis
continued to flee on foot into the woods, leading authorities to
establish a perimeter around the area. Law enforcement personnel
searched for Ellis using a host of assets, including bloodhounds and
aerial surveillance with infrared radar. A grid search was conducted
Wednesday evening with negative results and the search was postponed
until daylight.
As the search progressed this morning, a deputy U.S. marshal with
the NY/NJ RFTF found Ellis leaning against a tree with a hood on.
Upon being discovered, Ellis cooperated with authorities and did not
resist arrest. Shortly after Ellis was apprehended, NYPD Homicide
Squad officers arrived at the location and requested that the
subject be restrained with handcuffs belonging to Officer Timoshenko.
“He knew it was over, he didn’t resist,” said NY/NJ RFTF Commander
Lenny DePaul. “It was particularly fitting that he was restrained
with Officer Timosheko’s handcuffs.”
Bostic and Ellis will be arraigned today
and will subsequently be transported back to New York. |
