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Fugitive sought for Ontario robbery captured



ONTARIO - Seven months of rough sleeping and work-day worries ended Wednesday for one local salesman who was robbed and assaulted in August by a man who police say is a fugitive from Idaho.

The fugitive, Michael Albert Johnson, 55, Eagle, was arrested March 5 in Socorro County, N.M., according to a March 8 press release from the Idaho Department of Corrections.

The arrest brings a measure of relief to Larry Lynch, 62, an employee of Ontario’s Home Furnishing Liquidators in Ontario.

“I feel a lot better...I never knew if he’d pop up again,” Lynch said Wednesday.

Lynch was attacked and robbed by a man presumed to be a customer at the Home Furnishing Liquidators who wielded a 3-inch-long saw-blade Aug. 15 around 6 p.m., Ontario Police Department Capt. Mark Alexander said after the incident.

Lynch attempted to fight back and a lengthy struggle ensued between the two men but ended when the robber fled the store on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash, Alexander said. Lynch said he was jumped from behind and fought for his life during the incident. The attacker was unknown to Lynch. Lynch said his attacker smelled like pungent body odor.

Lynch’s injuries did not require immediate hospitalization, police said.

Based on witness statements, Ontario police named Johnson as a “person of interest,” after the incident.

Johnson — who was serving a minimum sentence of four years at the South Idaho Correctional Institution, Community Work Center — escaped Aug. 15 from a work crew on Pleasant Valley Road, south of Boise, law enforcement officials said.

Johnson was incarcerated in 2005 in Idaho on charges of burglary and grand theft by receiving stolen goods, according to the Ada County Clerk’s Office. At the time of his escape Johnson was working as a driver and transporting other offenders to and from work sites in the community.

He was reported missing after he failed to complete a work site pickup, according to the IDC release, and the 15-passenger Ford van Johnson was driving was later located at a Caldwell truck stop one day after he disappeared.

Warrants were issued by the Malheur County Circuit Court Sept. 18 for Lynch’s arrest on charges of first degree robbery, coercion, theft and fourth degree assault, Malheur County Undersheriff Brian Wolfe said. New Mexico State Police found Johnson earlier this month sleeping in a car with weapons and fake identification, according to the IDC release, and he was arrested and taken to the Socorro County Detention Center, which is in the central part of the state.

A jail official said Wednesday that Johnson is still in custody in Socorro County, and he is being held without bond, but he should be extradited soon to Idaho.

Johnson will likely face an escape charge in Idaho, according to the IDC release. Johnson will also have to face his three felony and misdemeanor charges issued out of Oregon, Malheur County Deputy District Attorney Erin Landis said Wednesday.

After the attack Lynch said, “I just want to know when he gets caught. It would help me sleep.”

Wednesday, Lynch said he will now sleep better.

“I was wondering if they were going to catch that sucker,” Lynch said, “I’m glad he’s put back behind bars where he belongs.”




Comment Blog - Note: All Comments Subject To Approval

No Dhimmi wrote on Aug 14, 2009 9:38 PM:

" Islam is a woman-hating, human-enslaving ideology that should NOT be taught in our public schools. It's obvious the Saudis and the rest of the Muslim fanatics who are trying to take over the world have bought off the State of Oregon. Expect lawsuits.

And this isn't "racist," because Islam is not a race, anymore than Communism or Nazism are races, both of which killed far fewer people than Islam.

Disgusting. "

anonymous wrote on Aug 10, 2009 2:19 AM:

" The girl was Latasha Rodriguez "

Cody W. Ables wrote on May 16, 2008 11:04 PM:

" May 16, 2008

Here is something that we should all read. This is a letter from an angry woman in New Jersey regarding the War in Iraq and all of the war’s negative publicity. Pay attention.

'Are we fighting a war on terror or aren't we? Was it or was it not started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on September 11, 2001?

Were people from all over the world, mostly Americans, not brutally murdered that day, in downtown Manhattan, across the Potomac from our nation's capitol and in a field in Pennsylvania?

Did nearly three-thousand men, women and children die a horrible, burning or crushing death that day, or didn't they?

And I'm supposed to care that a copy of the Koran was 'desecrated' when an overworked American soldier kicked it or got it wet?...Well, I don't. I don't care at all.

I'll start caring when Osama bin Laden turns himself in and repents for incinerating all those innocent people on 9/11.

I'll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the Middle East start caring about the Holy Bible, the mere possession of which is a crime in Saudi Arabia .

I'll care when these thugs tell the world they are sorry for hacking off Nick Berg's head while Berg screamed through his gurgling slashed throat.

I'll care when the cowardly so-called 'insurgents' in Iraq come out and fight like men instead of disrespecting their own religion by hiding in mosques.

I'll care when the mindless zealots who blow themselves up in search of nirvana care about the innocent children within range of their suicide bombs.

I'll care when the American media stops pretending that their First Amendment liberties are somehow derived from international law instead of the United States Constitution's Bill of Rights.

In the meantime, when I hear a story about a brave marine roughing up an Iraqi terrorist to obtain information, know this: I don't care.

When I see a fuzzy photo of a pile of naked Iraqi prisoners who have been humiliated in what amounts to a college-hazing incident, rest assured: I don't care.

When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when he is told not to move because he might be booby-trapped, you can take it to the bank: I don't care.

When I hear that a prisoner, who was issued a Koran and a prayer mat, and fed 'special' food that is paid for by my tax dollars, is complaining that his holy book is being 'mishandled,' you can absolutely believe in your heart of hearts: I don't care.

Sooner or later, it'll get to the people responsible for this ridiculous behavior!

If you don't agree, then by all means quit reading. Should you choose to do so, then please don't complain when more atrocities committed by radical Muslims happen here in our great Country! And may I add:

'Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem' -- Ronald Reagan

I have another quote that I would like to add

'If we ever forget that we're One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.' Also by.. Ronald Reagan

One last thought for the day:

In case we find ourselves starting to believe all the Anti-American sentiment and negativity, we should remember England 's Prime Minister Tony Blair's words during a recent interview. When asked by one of his Parliament members why he believes so much in America , he said: 'A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in.. And how many want out.'

Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you:
1. Jesus Christ
2. The American G. I.
Important for us all!!!!
One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

MANY SEEM TO FORGET BOTH OF THEM. AMEN!’


I hope you take this woman’s viewpoint into consideration. It closely parallels my own. As I begin my journey in becoming a soldier of the greatest country in the world, hearing this woman’s words sets my heart at ease. It is warming to know that there are people in this great country who still care about those men and women who have no choice.


Cody W. Ables
U.S. Air Force Academy 2012
"


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