Trendpills
A man on Oklahoma's “Ten Most Wanted” list has been arrested in northern New York after spending 13 years as a fugitive. Anthony Lennon, wanted on charges related to child pornography, had successfully evaded capture by faking his own abduction in 2012.
The case dates back to March 2012, when detectives from the Moore Police Department in Oklahoma investigated Lennon's disappearance from a local motel. Authorities found his car abandoned with a note inside claiming he had been abducted and would be killed. This staged event triggered an extensive search, but Lennon was never found, leading investigators to suspect he had intentionally vanished.
Lennon was discovered living in Canton, New York, under the alias Justin Phillips. For years, he maintained a low profile, even enrolling as a student at SUNY Canton and working locally. His life on the run came to an end after the Moore Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service received a crucial tip that led them to his location in St. Lawrence County.
U.S. Marshals, working with local and state police, confirmed Phillips's true identity and apprehended him without incident. Lennon had been wanted on eight felony counts of possession of child pornography. His capture concludes a long-running manhunt for the fugitive, who had managed to construct an entirely new life hundreds of miles from where his legal troubles began. The investigation into his disappearance initially treated it as a potential kidnapping, demonstrating the deceptive measures Lennon took to escape justice. Lennon is now awaiting extradition to Oklahoma to face the outstanding charges against him.
