Armed Fugitive Captured In Northern Jefferson County

BIRMINGHAM, AL - A 47-year-old Ashland man who was wanted on several outstanding warrants, including a parole violation, was arrested Tuesday evening in northern Jefferson County.

Just before 5:30 pm on December 12, deputies received information that a stolen truck was located at a residence on Lower Coalburg Road. Deputies went to the home and found the truck and verified that it had been reported to the Moody Police Department as stolen.

After checking the truck, they went to the door of the residence and found the door had been damaged and was partially open. Deputies called out to the occupants and a male voice responded. Once they identified themselves as deputies the man quit responding. Deputies entered the home and found Anthony Scott Marlersitting in a chair. He was asked to stand up and when he did so, the key to the stolen vehicle fell from his lap. He was taken into custody. Deputies found a short-barreled shotgun laying in the chair where he had been seated.

Marler was found to have outstanding warrants for a parole violation and failure to appear in court on misdemeanor charges, and was arrested and taken to the Jefferson County Jail. He will also be charged with receiving stolen property and possession of a short barreled shotgun. He remains in jail with no bond.

After the arrest, deputies learned that Marler had been the subject of a statewide search by the United States Marshals after he backed into a patrol car and exchanged gunfire with officers in a south Alabama town after being stopped in a different stolen car. Marler had reportedly told family members that he had cancer and, if confronted by law enforcement, he was going to shoot it out "because he was dying anyway."

Photo from Jefferson County Sheriff's Office