Thread: Police: Fugitive found asleep in home

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Police: Fugitive found asleep in home
05/03/2006

By Andria Simmons
Staff Writer
andria.simmons@gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE — A fugitive wanted on a host of charges including attempted murder and kidnapping has been arrested after allegedly breaking into a Norcross apartment and falling asleep on the couch.

Police said 24-year-old Juan Javier Tapia forced his way into a Harmony Station apartment in Norcross and attempted to fight with a resident. Officers dispatched to the scene discovered Tapia had eaten all the resident’s food and drank all his alcohol before falling asleep on the man’s couch, said Cpl. Darren Moloney, spokesman for the Gwinnett County Police Department.

He had also reportedly poured a dark-colored alcoholic beverage all over the carpet in the living room, leaving a massive stain.

Officers handcuffed Tapia and then woke him. He immediately tried to fight with police, but was unable to, Moloney said. Tapia claimed his name was Henry Blas and gave officers a false Georgia identification card, police said.

After he was jailed on charges of burglary, providing false information, simple assault and property damage, the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department discovered Tapia’s true identity. He is a wanted fugitive whose alleged misdeeds were so violent that they landed him a featured spot on the TV program “America’s Most Wanted.”

Tapia was a wanted fugitive out of Waukegan, Ill., on three counts of attempted murder in connection with the stabbings of three people during a domestic dispute. He was also wanted in Davenport, Iowa, on charges of kidnapping his noncustodial daughter, 1-year-old Arisabeth Tapia-Martinez.

Tapia later dropped the girl off with her maternal grandparents in Illinois, according to “America’s Most Wanted’s” Web site at www.amw.com. Tapia is also listed as a fugitive from Mexico for homicide with a knife, kidnapping and child stealing, Moloney said.
Gwinnett police were unable to provide details about Tapia’s alleged crimes in Mexico.

Waukegan police Cmdr. Mark McCormick said Tapia was arrested about a year ago for the alleged triple stabbing in Illinois, but he had bonded out of jail and fled the area. Authorities there will seek to extradite him from Gwinnett, McCormick said, and the FBI has also placed a hold on Tapia.

Amanda Mata, 24, is a college student and mother of a 3-year-old who owns the apartment where Tapia was arrested. She was shocked to learn about his checkered past. According to Mata, Tapia had been to the apartment on several occasions prior to his arrest. He was a cousin of one of three other roommates to whom Mata rents rooms.

Mata said Tapia’s cousin moved out about three months ago, but Tapia reportedly continued to drop by the apartment occasionally to see the other residents. On Sunday, the roommates tried to get Tapia to leave when they discovered he had crack cocaine, she said.

That’s when he became confrontational, Mata said, attempting to start a fight with one of them. The roommates snuck out when Tapia went into the bathroom and called police.

Tapia allegedly locked the door behind them, ate the crack rock and began destroying the apartment as they called 911, according to Mata. He then took off his shoes and socks and passed out on the couch before officers arrived, Mata said.

In retrospect, Mata believes it was strange that Tapia was born in the United States and is a legal resident, but he lived like an illegal day laborer sharing an apartment with others and taking whatever construction-related work he could solicit at a local gas station.

“Just the way he lived and he worked and stuff seemed kind of weird,” Mata said. “He seemed like a decent person, but just kind of strange, out of the ordinary.”

Tapia had apparently become adept at staying under the radar in other ways, too. Mata noticed on “America’s Most Wanted’s” Web site that he was described as having a tattoo of the name “Iliana” on his neck. The tattoo had since been altered to “Diana,” Mata said.

I remember seeing that episode, glad they got that dirtbag.

And Bush wants to give am-nasty to these creeps!

There are some good-hearted folks who come here to work and keep their noses clean but there are far too many of these stories surfacing to convince anyone other than a fool that they're all "good-hearted folks!"