Updated: RI Fugitive James Morales Caught in Somerville

By Alison Lauter (Patch Staff) - January 5, 2017 5:12 pm ET

CAMBRIDGE, MA — Fugitive James Morales was captured this afternoon in Somerville, Mass., ending a six-day manhunt which involved the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, state police in Rhode Island and Massachusetts and local law enforcement.

Today's capture followed an attempted bank robbery in Cambridge, Mass.

Morales was apprehended by a State Trooper on Broadway in Somerville.

According to State Police, Trooper Joseph Merrick spotted Morales in area of Route 28 and Mystic Avenue. When he ran, Merrick chased after him for about two blocks and caught Morales as he was trying to jump a fence in the Foss Park neighborhood, State Police said.

The arrest was made after a second attempted bank robbery in Somerville, State Police said. Schools there had banned recess and other outdoor activities as a precaution while the search was underway.
Morales will be booked at the State Police Barracks in Medford, according to MSP. Officials will be offering a media briefing on the case Thursday evening.

The arrest comes after another bank robbery in Central Square earlier in the day that law enforcement said could have been Morales, based on surveillance footage and suspect description.

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Cambridge Police said Thursday morning they were seeking a robbery suspect who passed a note to a teller at a Mass Ave. bank, later identified as Bank of America, Thursday morning. He did not manage to steal any money, police say.

CPD was working with Massachusetts State Police, the U.S. Marshals Service and the FBI's Boston Division to investigate.

Morales, who has a previous address in Cambridge, also had connections to Somerville and Framingham, according to State Police. Framingham Police report he was spotted there on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day but had not been seen since.

State Police previously described Morales as approximately 6 feet tall, 175 pounds, with brown skin and black hair. He is bald and has an eagle tattoo on the left side of his neck.

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A former U.S. Army reservist, Morales escaped a federal prison in Rhode Island on New Year's Eve and is believed to have later stolen a car near Attleboro.

He was in custody for the theft of weapons from a federal armory in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 2015 and was awaiting trial. He additionally has past convictions for aggravated rape of a child, rape of a child with force, and assault and battery of a child, State Police said.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Providence charged him with escaping from the Attorney General's custody. According to WPRI, he is facing up to five years in prison plus a $250,000 fine.

Previously:

• 'Turn Yourself In,' Urge Officials as Escaped Inmate Added to Mass. Most Wanted List
• Police: 'No Reason to Believe' Fugitive Still in Framingham; 'No Proof That He Is Not'
• Escaped Inmate Reportedly Spotted in Framingham: Update
• Manhunt for James Morales: U.S. Attorney Charges Him With Escape
• Update: Manhunt for James Morales
• Update: Prison Break and Manhunt On for Dangerous Escapee

Wanted poster via Mass. State Police. Split image via Mass. State Police, FBI depict Morales (left) and bank robbery suspect (right)