SUNBURY - A Northumberland County fugitive on the run for a year was captured Monday in Connecticut.
Donald C. Anderson, 42, formerly of Mount Carmel, was taken into custody by the Hamden Police Department on outstanding warrants from Connecticut and Pennsylvania. It was the third attempt in the past two weeks to apprehend him.
Anderson is wanted in Northumberland County for jumping bail in a pending criminal case from 2012 on accusations that he showed a 17-year-old girl a photo of his penis, harassed her through hundreds of text messages and attempted to establish a sexual relationship with her.
Anderson was featured on the county's wanted billboards in Coal Township and Natalie. Tips received through the sheriff office's Facebook page and by telephone aided in his capture, said Sgt. Dwayne Pidcoe, who relayed the information to Connecticut police.
"We're thrilled to death that he is in custody, and excited with what happened with Facebook and the billboards," Pidcoe said. "It's worked."
Anderson was arraigned Tuesday in Meriden Superior Court, Meriden, Conn., on charges of reckless endangerment and cruelty to persons stemming from a 2012 criminal case. Details of the allegations were unavailable Tuesday.
He is held on a combined $165,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in Meriden court Sept. 9. Although he waived extradition rights, it's unlikely he will be brought before a Northumberland County judge until his Connecticut case is resolved, said Sheriff Robert Wolfe.
2012 arrest
Trooper Edward Shannon, state police at Milton, charged Anderson with unlawful contact with a minor, stalking, disorderly conduct and four counts of harassment on March 29, 2012, for incidents in the Lewisburg area.
The accuser says she and Anderson, who allegedly told her he was 21, were in touch since she was 14. Just before his arrest they met in a Lewisburg motel, according to a criminal complaint. She told police she skipped school for an entire week, spending three days seeking apartments for him. He eventually found a house to rent in Northumberland.
Anderson was controlling, the accuser claims, telling police he tried to manage her social life. He met her at her job and threatened to harm coworkers or have her fired if she rebelled. When she rejected his advances and balked at a relationship, she says Anderson threatened to kill her father, harm her friends and kill himself.
A protection from abuse order sought by the accuser's family led to his arrest. It turned out he was using an alias of "Donald Smith," Pidcoe said. It's believed he fled to Northumberland County to escape prosecution in Connecticut.
Legal fight
Anderson was jailed in Northumberland County Prison, where he stayed for more than two years. Numerous legal filings were made in that time from both the defense and the prosecution, stalling the case. He was on track both to go to trial and to plead guilty, with a sentencing date scheduled. One public defender withdrew as his counsel. He sought release no less than three times on nominal bail.
In May 2014 he was successful in fighting for his release when a judge agreed that he hadn't been brought to trial in time under the state's Rule 600. He was let go from county prison for $1. In less than a month he violated the terms of his release when he failed to report to the probation department. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest, and he hadn't been seen by county law enforcement since.
"Through networking with other police he was brought into custody," Wolfe said. Referring to the county's billboard and Facebook campaign for criminals and cost collections offenders, Wolfe said, "This shows our efforts are working."