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For Immediate Release

 Contact:
March 12, 2009 Brian Babtist, U.S. Marshals Service (614) 469-5540;
Amanda Ford, Columbus Division of Police (614) 645-4593
Columbus Murder Suspect Arrested
COLUMBUS, OH – James Wahlrab, United States Marshal for the Southern District of Ohio, and Walter Distelzweig, Chief for the City of Columbus Division of Police, announced today that Rodney M. Conley has been apprehended. The 47 year-old Conley was wanted by the City of Columbus Division of Police for Murder.

The warrant for Conley was issued after it was alleged that he shot and killed Jesse Lanier, 31. According to witnesses, Conley and Lanier were having an altercation inside an automobile on Brentnell Road in Columbus on August 15, 2008. Witnesses say that Conley threw Lanier out of the parked automobile and to the ground and drove off. Lanier told witnesses that he had been shot three times. Lanier was transported to Grant Hospital, but died later.

Based upon the request for assistance by the City of Columbus Division of Police Homicide Division, the Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (SOFAST) joined the search for Conley. After tracking multiple investigative leads, the investigative team believed Conley was hiding out in New Orleans, Louisiana. That information was forwarded to the U.S. Marshals Service led task force in New Orleans who quickly acted, locating Conley and taking him into custody without incident today. Conley will be extradited back to Franklin County were he will have to answer to the Murder charge.

Chief Deputy U.S Marshal Cathy Jones stated, “The investigative efforts of the City of Columbus Division of Police Homicide Detectives and SOFAST members highlight the strength of and need for interagency cooperation. Fugitives on the run do not care about jurisdictional boundaries. We are proud of the determination of all parties involved to work together to take another alleged murderer off the streets of Columbus and New Orleans.”

SOFAST is a multi-agency fugitive apprehension team led by the U.S. Marshals Service and comprised of the following law enforcement agencies in the Columbus area: U. S. Marshals Service, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Columbus Division of Police, Ohio Adult Parole Authority, Ross County Sheriff’s Office, Grove City Police Department, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, U.S. Department of Agriculture – OIG, Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, Columbus Division of Fire, Reynoldsburg Police Department, Whitehall Police Department, Grandview Heights Police Department, Lancaster Police Department, and the Worthington Police Department.

Additional information about the U.S. Marshals can be found at http://www.usmarshals.gov.