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Southern Idaho murder suspect who escaped Bonner
County police chase has been arrested in Spokane |
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June 20, 2016 |
A south Idaho murder suspect who ended up in a
police chase in northern Bonner County this past
March was spotted and arrested in Spokane over
the weekend.
James Mancuso, who was wanted on a charge of
second-degree murder in the stabbing death of
Robert Stevens in Nampa on March 10, was spotted
in Spokane by police officers there. Mr.
Mancuso, who was on foot, attempted to run, but
was caught and arrested by the officers.
Back in March, police say Mr. Mancuso was
involved in an argument with the victim, 30 year
old Robert Stevens. The argument led to an
altercation in which Mr. Mancuso stabbed the
victim, according to police. The victim later
died at a hospital.
Mr. Mancuso, age 32, fled with Ashley Ford, age
27. Ms. Ford was wanted as an accessory to
second-degree murder and as a material witness
in the case.
As police in Nampa searched for the couple, they
turned up in northern Bonner County a few weeks
later in April, where their vehicle was spotted
and pursued by police in stormy, muddy
conditions, at times traveling off road. The
couple was able to elude officers, and their
vehicle was later found abandoned. Soon
afterward, the Bonner County Sheriff's office
received a report that a white Toyota pickup had
been stolen in that same area. It was suspected
the couple had stolen that vehicle.
No trace of the couple was found, until 10 days
after they had been pursued in Bonner County,
when the stolen white Toyota pickup was
recovered abandoned April 2 in the Spokane
Valley.
Later, in early May, police in Las Vegas, Nevada
came upon a female there in an injured
condition, and stopped to see if they could
offer assistance. They transported her to a Las
Vegas hospital, where she was treated for minor
injuries and released. By that time, her
identification as wanted Idaho suspect Ashely
Ford had been established, and she was
subsequently arrested on her outstanding Idaho
warrant. Mr. Mancuso was thought to also be in
Las Vegas at the time, but he was not located
and his whereabouts were not clear until he was
seen and arrested in Spokane over the weekend.
A KHQ news reporter has spoken with Mr. Mancuso
in jail, and according to those reports he is
denying committing the murder. He further stated
he had supported himself while on the run my
"doing a lot of odd jobs on Craigslist," and
that he had returned to Spokane last month.
Ms. Ford has already been extradited back to
Canyon County. It is presumed that at some point
extradition proceedings will begin to return Mr.
Mancuso to Idaho to face charges there, also. |
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