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Scranton, PA – Acting U.S. Marshal, Martin J.
Pane, announced today that the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) arrested Richard
Hanson in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
On the evening of July 19, 2011, it is alleged that Richard P. Hanson murdered
his father Gary Hanson in their home located in Springfield Virginia. The father
was shot in the head four times. Hanson fled his residence in a 1998 Saturn
belonging to his parents. An arrest warrant was issued out of Fairfax County
Virginia charging Richard Hanson with murder in the second degree. The fugitive
was believed to have in his possession a handgun used in the commission of the
crime.
On July 20, U.S. Marshals in Scranton received information from their
counterparts assigned to the Capital Area Regional Task Force (CARTF)
Springfield Virginia that Hanson may be in the Scranton area. In the evening
hours of July 20, a vehicle matching the description of the parent’s car was
located at a hotel in Scranton. U.S. Marshals and members of the USMS Middle
District of Pennsylvania (M/PA) Fugitive Task Force conducted surveillance at
the hotel located in the 300 block of Franklin Avenue.
For public and officer safety, the U.S. Marshals Service requested the
assistance of the Scranton Police Department SWAT Team. Hotel guests were
evacuated from nearby rooms. Hanson exited his room and was taken into custody
without incident. His vehicle has been impounded.
Hanson, 53 years of age, will be processed and charged as an out-of-state
fugitive-from-justice by the Scranton Police Department. He is due to be
arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Mercuri in Lackawanna County, and
awaits further court proceedings concerning his extradition to Virginia.
Acting U.S. Marshal Pane stated, “The U.S. Marshals Service is committed to
ridding our communities of fugitives charged with such violent offenses and we
will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to ensure their
apprehension.”
U.S. Marshals were assisted by several agencies that comprise its M/PA Fugitive
Task Force. This included officers from the Scranton Police Department and the
Lackawanna County Sheriff’s Office.
The concept of all USMS-led fugitive task forces is to seek out and arrest the
nation’s most dangerous offenders.
Additional information about the U.S. Marshals
can be found at http://www.usmarshals.gov.
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