Holden, LA – An Ascension Parish fugitive
profiled on the FOX television program America’s Most Wanted and digital
billboards all over the Southern United States was arrested Monday night in
Holden, Louisiana. John Ryan Stephens was wanted by the Ascension Parish
Sheriff’s Office for failing to appear for trial in December of 2002.
Middle Louisiana Fugitive Task Force
Investigators used tips from callers who saw AMW and the Crime Stoppers
“wanted posters” to end Stephens’ almost six year run. He was found hiding
in a camper trailer on a family member’s property on Carl Hodges Road. The
MLFTF, along with members of the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office Special
Response Team, converged on the property and arrested Stephens. Stephens
refused to come out of the trailer and resisted officers during the arrest.
Stephens had been the target of a major investigation led by the US Marshals
Middle Louisiana Fugitive Task Force and the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s
Office since he fled sometime before his December 17, 2002 trial date.
Stephens was scheduled to face charges of Aggravated Rape, Aggravated Oral
Sexual Battery, and two counts of Indecent Behavior with a Juvenile.
Stephens is alleged to have committed these offenses against two separate,
unrelated minor victims on multiple occasions. Stephens was booked into the
Livingston Parish Jail awaiting transfer to Ascension Parish.
The Middle Louisiana Fugitive Task Force, coordinated by the US Marshals
Service, is a multi-agency task force that targets persons wanted for
violent crimes, narcotic offenses, and sex offenders in the Capitol area and
surrounding Parishes. Participating agencies are the Baton Rouge Police
Department, East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, the Louisiana State Police,
and the Louisiana State Probation and Parole. For more information about the
US Marshals Service, visit
http://www.usmarshals.gov/district/la-m/index.html.
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