City police this week arrested a man included on a long list of Missouri’s most wanted fugitives — after the man apparently locked himself out of his apartment and called for help, police and records said.
Alan J. Sears, 52, most recently of Swan Street, appeared in Schenectady County Court this morning and declined to waive extradition to Missouri, officials said.
He is wanted in Poplar Bluff, Mo., on a charge of first-degree arson, as well as a parole violation, records show. He is listed on a website as one of about 115 of the state’s most wanted fugitives.
Sears encountered Schenectady police early Wednesday morning outside his Swan Street residence, police spokesman Lt. Mark McCracken said.
The reason for the interaction: “It appears he called because he was locked out of the address,” McCracken said.
The call came in just before 4 a.m.
McCracken did not know why Sears was in Schenectady or for how long.
Details of the underlying arson case in Missouri were unavailable today, but a state court website appears to list the date of the charge as Aug. 16, 2013 and a bond posted for $30,000.
A Missouri law site indicates the main definition of the charge there is knowingly damaging an occupied building.
The same court site also lists him as receiving probation for a 2011 bad check case there and that probation being formally suspended in early 2014. Poplar Bluff is in the southeast corner of the state.
McCracken said the Fire Department usually responds to help when individuals are locked out of residences. Police, however, will also respond to verify the person actually lives there.
In addition to verifying the residence, officers will also check the person’s information for any warrants.
In Sears’ case, officers discovered his warrant out of Missouri and gave him a different residence for the night.
He remained at the jail this evening. He is due back in Schenectady court next month.
Categories: -News-, Schenectady County
