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Hoax suspect is caught
©Los Angeles Times ST. LOUIS -- An escaped convict suspected of mailing hundreds of anthrax hoax letters to abortion clinics was arrested Wednesday outside a suburban Cincinnati copy business after employees recognized him when he came in to use the store's computers. Clayton Lee Waagner, one of the FBI's 10 Most Wanted fugitives, was taken into custody as he tried to flee from a Kinko's in Springdale, Ohio. Federal marshals had sent wanted posters to Kinko's outlets across the nation, suspecting that Waagner was using their computers to check his e-mail from time to time as he dodged an intensive manhunt. Employees in Springdale recognized the fugitive and called police, who staked out the store, chased Waagner and caught him. Authorities said Waagner, who had a handgun, put up no resistance. He also had $10,000 cash in a stolen Mercedes-Benz. "Clayton Lee Waagner's run from justice is over," Attorney General John Ashcroft said in Washington on Wednesday. "We can write across the face of that (wanted) poster: "Apprehended.' " A wily survivor who calls himself "God's warrior," Waagner has been on the run since escaping from an Illinois jail in February. But he hardly has kept a low profile. Authorities say that during that time, he robbed a bank in Pennsylvania without bothering to disguise himself and boasted as he carjacked a vehicle in Mississippi that he soon would be featured on America's Most Wanted. He also managed to keep in contact with zealous supporters in the antiabortion movement, posting Web site messages vowing to kill not only doctors who provide abortions, but also anyone else connected to a clinic. Last month, Waagner appeared at the door of an antiabortion activist in Georgia to announce that he had spent months gathering "intelligence," including the addresses and license plate numbers of 42 clinic workers he had targeted for murder. The activist, Neal Horsley, said Waagner also boasted that he was responsible for the anthrax hoax letters, which were sent to clinics after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The anthrax mailings came in two waves. In late October, more than 280 clinics received letters purporting to contain deadly spores. Most had as a return address the U.S. Marshal's Office and were labeled: "Urgent security notice." A few weeks later, 270 letters were sent out -- this time in Federal Express packages with the return addresses (and FedEx account numbers) of the Planned Parenthood or National Abortion Federation headquarters. The white powder contained in many of the letters turned out to be harmless. But in a few cases, initial field tests indicated presence of the potentially deadly bacteria. The hoax letters coincided with -- but were not connected to -- the lethal anthrax mailings to politicians and the media in Florida, New York and Washington. That timing made them even more alarming. "It's been terrorizing," said Laura Knudson, chief executive officer for Planned Parenthood of North-Central Florida. "It's been really hard to live like this." Waagner's arrest, she said, was "a real relief." "Now is not the time to relax," said Gloria Feldt, president of Planned Parenthood. "We know we have to be even more vigilant." Feldt and others called on Ashcroft to intensify efforts to identify anyone who may have helped Waagner survive nearly 10 months on the lam. Authorities have said the 45-year-old father of nine was constantly on the move, leaving a trail and committing crimes in state after state while still finding time to put together more than 500 hoax letters and post mission statements on the "Army of God" Web site. His targets have questioned whether Waagner could have pulled it off alone. "There are individuals who have publicly praised him," said Vicki Saporta, executive director of the National Abortion Federation, which represents 400 abortion providers. "We need to be absolutely certain who, if anyone, aided and abetted him." Waagner has not been charged in the anthrax hoaxes. But during his months on the run, he was charged with robbing a bank in Harrisburg, Pa. He is also suspected of firearms violations, car theft and at least one other bank robbery. When he escaped from a county jail in Clinton, Ill., in February, he was awaiting sentencing on federal firearms and auto theft charges.
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From the Times wire desk Susan Taylor-Martin
From the AP |
