Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 7, 1994 TAG: 9409070148
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Dallas Morning News
DATELINE: OKLAHOMA CITY NOTE: BELOW LENGTH: Medium
State police in Santa Fe arrested Eric A. Elliott, 16, and Lewis E. Gilbert, 22, both of Newcomerstown, Ohio, without incident at midmorning near State Road 599.
Officers said they received a tip from a man who said he had given the pair a ride to the culvert the previous night.
The suspects, who were asleep when police converged, had two rifles, a shotgun and a handgun, said Special Agent Doug Beldon of the FBI's Albuquerque office. A silver pickup truck that belonged to one of the victims was found behind a race track about a mile away, police said.
Elliott and Gilbert are suspects in the kidnapping of an elderly Ohio woman who still is missing, two killings in Missouri and one in Oklahoma City, and the thefts of the victims' vehicles, officials said.
An FBI spokesman said Elliott and Gilbert were to appear before a federal magistrate today in Santa Fe, then be turned over to New Mexico authorities to await extradition.
The two are wanted in Ohio on charges of abduction and aggravated burglary. Oklahoma authorities said murder charges may be filed in the death of Roxie Ruddel, 37, who was shot while fishing at an Oklahoma City lake. It was Ruddel's truck that was found near the culvert where the suspects were captured.
Authorities said the manhunt began with the discovery Aug.30 of a break-in at the house of Ruth Lucille Loader, 79, in Port Washington, Ohio. Loader and her car were missing.
The car was found Thursday night near the home of a slain Missouri couple. William and Flossie Brewer, 86 and 76 respectively, each were shot three times in the head. Their car was missing.
It was found three days later, stuck in mud on a wooded trail at an Oklahoma City lake near Ruddel's body.
Oklahoma investigators said they believe that Gilbert and Elliott spent part of last week - between about 2 a.m. Wednesday and 9 p.m. Friday - at Gilbert's mother's home south of Tahlequah, Okla.
Terry Combs, a sheriff's investigator in Cherokee County, Okla., said Gilbert's mother - whom he would not name - apparently was unaware her son was a fugitive.
Elliott and Gilbert were seen Monday afternoon in Lamy, N.M., about 15 miles south of Santa Fe, said Major Roger Payne of the state police. The two had driven to a resident's house and were given some gas. They did not use force, authorities said, and apparently the resident had not seen or heard news reports about the fugitives.
About 7:30 p.m. Monday, police said, the suspects flagged down a passing motorist on State Road 599 at the edge of Santa Fe. The motorist drove the pair into Santa Fe, where they got food and gas. The motorist then drove them back to a pickup truck, which they said had broken down.
Elliott and Gilbert apparently spent the night in the culvert, officials said.
Early Tuesday, the motorist saw a television broadcast about the fugitives and called police. The two were arrested by a squad of eight New Mexico State Police officers armed with assault rifles.
The FBI has said Elliott and Gilbert probably met through a mutual acquaintance Aug.15, the day Gilbert was released from prison in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, after serving 18 months for stealing a boat. Newcomerstown is in Tuscarawas County.
Gilbert faces warrants in Las Vegas for auto theft and in Oklahoma for embezzlement, Ohio authorities said. Elliott is awaiting trial on a charge of breaking-and-entering into a bowling alley July 26.
by CNB