A fugitive from Pennsylvania was apprehended 500 miles away in Columbus, nearly nine years after his previous parole hearing.
According to court documents, Columbus police got warrants from Pennsylvania alleging Ricardo François had an outstanding criminal parole violation. François, who Columbus police believe is unhoused, was arrested in Doylestown, Pennsylvania’s Bucks County, in May 2015.
Faced with allegations of communications harassment as part of making terroristic threats, François fled the Bucks County area, north of Philadelphia, in June 2016, with an order for a hearing over a parole or probation violation filed on June 22. A week later, the court granted the order, but on July 20, they returned the notification as undeliverable.
Columbus police detained François, 36, on Tuesday, highlighting in a criminal complaint his flight risk and requesting a substantial bond sum. Franklin County Municipal Court granted him a $70,000 bond the following day for one count of fugitive from justice.
He is set to appear in local court for a preliminary hearing on June 20 before being extradited to Pennsylvania later.