AKRON, Ohio — A 34-year-old Akron man has been captured by the United States Marshals Service after he was granted furlough and failed to return to prison.
Joe Fletcher, 34, of Akron, is currently under indictment in the Northern District of Ohio federal court for multiple counts of both felon in possession of a firearm and possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances.
He went viral in January 2018 when, while in the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta, he posted to his public Facebook page a 49-minute long video recording of a phone conversation with family members and friends, in which he called himself “a motivational speaker for gangsters,” and claimed responsibility for a 2010 murder in Ohio, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office Northern District of Georgia.
While on video, Fletcher allegedly bragged about his ability to have a phone while in prison, the U.S. Attorney's office stated.
"This inmate was particularly proud of himself when he posted a lengthy interactive video on his Facebook page that showed him talking on a contraband phone from inside his prison cell,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J.“BJay” Pak.
In 2015, he was sentenced to four years in prison for illegally possessing a firearm, records show.
Authorities found Fletcher hiding in a basement in a home in the 700 block of Allyn Street in Akron Friday evening. A 29-year-old female was also arrested at the scene. Police said the woman had active warrants.
No additional information was provided.
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