MADISON, Wis. -- A Chicago fugitive sought by area police and FBI agents in a daylong manhunt was arrested by members of the Madison Police Department's SWAT team Thursday evening on the city's East Side.
Madison police Lt. Cory Nelson said Paris Poe, 33, was taken into custody without incident at about 7 p.m. after a traffic stop near Fair Oaks Avenue and Highway 30.
"He did shave his head, I presume to avoid detection," Nelson said of Poe, who earlier in the day had long dreadlocks tied in a pony tail.
Poe was with a woman, and it appeared he was trying to leave the area, Nelson said.
Police spokesman Joel DeSpain said the traffic stop was made after police received information about the vehicle.
Several area schools on the other side of the metro area were locked down Thursday during the search for Poe, who was wanted for questioning in a federal murder investigation, and considered armed and dangerous.
Poe was sought by the FBI for fleeing the Chicago area to avoid arrest for a parole violation following his conviction for aggravated battery and robbery, said G.B. Jones, assistant special agent in charge with the FBI in Milwaukee.
The FBI got information that Poe might be in the Madison area, where he reportedly had relatives or friends of relatives, Jones said.
An FBI SWAT team and Madison police tried Thursday morning to arrest Poe morning and were led to a Fitchburg residence, then to Country Inn and Suites, 6275 Nesbitt Road, Fitchburg, where authorities missed him by about 10 minutes, Jones said.
Poe was later seen around noon near the Copps grocery store at 6655 McKee Road, Jones said.
Madison, Fitchburg, Verona and UW-Madison police, Dane County sheriff's deputies and the state Division of Criminal Investigation joined FBI agents in the search.
Automated calls were made to residents within three miles of the hotel, asking them to be on the lookout for Poe, he said.
Fitchburg police Lt. Chad Brecklin said about a half-dozen public and private schools were locked down for part of the day.
The Verona School District had all schools in a "hard lockdown," with no one allowed to enter or exit.
Students were allowed to go home with parents or guardians before elementary students were allowed to leave on buses at 3:45 p.m., followed by middle and high school students at 4:30 p.m.
Outdoor activities at Madison's Leopold and Chavez elementary schools were suspended as those schools were locked down for part of the day, said Luis Yudice, the school district's security coordinator.
After consulting with police, the district decided to release students at the normal time. Buses that traveled through areas of police interest were escorted by squad cars, Yudice said.
Parent Joe Gromacki said he was upset to learn that his 12-year-old son was sent home from Toki Middle School on a bus that dropped him off in the middle of the search area with no one else at his residence.
"He said he saw cops all over the place, FBI jackets," Gromacki said, adding that his son called his mother, who got his sister to leave work and go to their home.
Copyright 2013 - The Wisconsin State Journal
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
