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.