MANSFIELD - Fugitive Shawn R. Christy is in the Mansfield area, a representative of the U.S. Marshal Service reiterated Friday.
"Be vigilant," Deputy U.S. Marshal Anne Murphy of the Northern District of Ohio said Friday. Lock everything up — cars, sheds, houses, garages, barns and anything else. "We believe that Shawn Christy is still in the Mansfield area. We believe that he came here on Sunday in the afternoon and that he's been here, that he remains here. Our teams are going to remain to operate that way. We're going to continue to search this area and we're going to continue to work hard to keep the Mansfield residents safe."
She asked residents to keep their valuables locked up, as well as incidentals such as food, water, boots and backpacks — anything that somebody on the run might need.
Christy is one of the FBI's Most Wanted fugitives, and authorities are continuing to scour the area east and southeast of Mansfield in search of Christy, who's believed to have crashed a vehicle on Interstate 71 in Richland County on Sunday.
Christy, 26, is wanted by the FBI, the U.S. Marshals and the U.S. Secret Service for multiple offenses, the Ohio Highway Patrol reported. He's considered armed and dangerous.
According to a news release Thursday from Murphy, Christy, of McAdoo, Pennsylvania, has multiple state arrest warrants in Pennsylvania for burglary, probation violation, and failure to appear for an aggravated assault case. Christy has threatened to use “full lethal force on any law enforcement officer that tries to detain me.” A federal warrant was issued June 19 for Christy in relation to Facebook threats to the Northampton County district attorney.
Murphy said Friday a couple of deputies from the U.S. marshals from eastern and middle Pennsylvania areas, where the initial incident occurred with Christy, have arrived in Mansfield to assist in the search.
"We have numerous law enforcement officers, federal, state, local. The outpouring of support for the law enforcement community, and more importantly, the community of Mansfield, has been absolutely overwhelming," Murphy said. "And we're so thankful.":
She said there have been numerous tips coming in about Christy, through the marshals service, the patrol, the sheriff's department.
"People are really taking this seriously," she said. "In turn, we're taking it seriously. The tips that are being called in, we're sending guys back out into the community to check areas and check houses."
Local law enforcement agencies are accumulating thousands of dollars in overtime assisting the U.S. Marshals as the search continues.
Mansfield police Chief Ken Coontz said the task force will reimburse the Mansfield Police Department for overtime worked by any Mansfield police officers assigned to the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force.
"We're still gathering our slips. It's very costly to have officers on a search around the clock," Coontz said. "We will discuss with them any possibility of reimbursement for other expenses.
Richand County Sheriff Maj. Joe Masi said overtime costs will be submitted to the U.S. Marshals for reimbursement for any deputies working the search for Christy.
