U.S. Marshals Arrest Man Accused of Rape After a Text Tip

An alert, anonymous citizen helped the U.S. Marshals arrest early Wednesday morning a man suspected of rape. 

Last week, the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force featured Bobby Thomas as its fugitive of the week. Thomas, 39, was wanted by the Lakewood Police Department for rape and kidnapping. Police say Thomas raped a child under the age of 14 several times between August and October 2012, a task force media release said.

The U.S. Marshals received a number of tips regarding Thomas since he was featured, but none paid off, the release said. But at about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, the U.S. Marshals office received an anonymous text that said Thomas was hiding in a home near the 3200 block of West 73rd Street in Cleveland. Police found him hiding in a closet. He was immediately taken to the Lakewood jail and booked on a warrant.

The Marshal’s office in Northern Ohio was the first to begin accepting anonymous text tips, the release said. The program began in December 2011 and has led to a number of big arrests.

Click here to see all of the task force’s fugitives of the week. If you have information on any of them, call the task force at 1-866-4WANTED, or text a tip to 847411 (tip411), keyword WANTED.