FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive John W. Parsons Apprehended at Chillicothe, Ohio

Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Timothy P. Murphy, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Cincinnati Division, in conjunction with the Ross County, Ohio Sheriff's Department, the Chillicothe, Ohio Police Department, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation and the U.S. Marshal's Service, announced that John W. Parsons was arrested without incident by members of the Ross County Tactical Assault Team at approximately 12:20 pm today. The arrest occurred at a small shack near the Chillicothe city limits. Information was received yesterday that Parsons was located at the place of the arrest. A number of law enforcement tactical units, which have been participating in the fugitive task force formed to apprehend Parsons, converged on the location and planned the arrest to avoid injury to any law enforcement personnel or to Parsons.

Parsons escaped from the Ross County, Ohio Jail on Saturday July 29, 2006. He was being held pending capital charges for the April 21, 2005 murder of Chillicothe Police Officer Larry R. Cox. Since his escape there have been numerous sightings of Parsons in heavily wooded areas near Chillicothe. A multi-agency task force comprised of the above-listed agencies as well as the Franklin County, Ohio Sheriff's Office, the Hamilton County, Ohio Sheriff's Office, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, the Ohio Adult Parole Authority, and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, has been searching for Parsons since his escape.

Parsons was place on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List on September 30, 2006. Parsons was the 484th fugitive named to the FBI Top Ten List since its inception in 1950. He is the 454th of these fugitives have been apprehended or otherwise located. Citizen cooperation led to 147 of these apprehensions.

SAC Murphy noted the strong cooperation between the agencies involved which led to this arrest. He also commended members of the media including Columbus area television stations, all of the local newspapers in the Chillicothe area and the America's Most Wanted television show on the Fox Network which featured Parsons on three occasions since his escape.

It should be noted that the subject in this matter has only been charged with a criminal offense. Individuals are presumed innocent until being convicted in a criminal court.