A fugitive from Detroit recently arrested for killing his punk rock singer roommate back in 1993 has been described in news reports as a \u201cghost\u201d because he was able to elude the authorities for more than 30 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But during that time, Richard Werstine was no stranger to police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While he was on the run, Werstine was arrested several times and was even shot in 1999 during a confrontation with the police in Flagstaff, Arizona, according to the U.S. marshal who tracked him down and news accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHis arm is still messed up from that,\u201d chief deputy U.S. Marshal Jimmy Allen told NBC News on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, with the 56-year-old murder suspect back in Detroit and awaiting a court hearing, Allen credited the \u201ctenacity and commitment of the United States Marshals Service working to bring Werstine and those like him into police custody.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As to why it took so long to arrest Werstine for the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Rodney Barger, Allen said the suspect used several aliases, including Joseph Alan Stavros, and tracking down fugitives was much harder 30 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was the 90s,\u201d Allen said. \u201cThis was before the internet, and fingerprint databases weren\u2019t as accessible as they are now. So when we took over the case in 2022, I was essentially starting from the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Using \u201cstate-of-the-art investigative resources and techniques,\u201d the marshals and members of their Detroit Fugitive Apprehension Team task force picked up Werstine\u2019s trail and tracked him to Panama City, Panama, Allen said in his statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the help of Panamanian authorities, they descended on a dog park in that city on April 29 and captured Werstine \u201cwithout incident.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWerstine was in possession of fraudulent identification, and a subsequent fingerprint analysis led to him being identified as the fugitive Werstine,\u201d the statement said. \u201cWerstine confessed to his true identity and being on the run. Werstine admitted to entering Panama illegally in 2005 and never obtained legal status.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Barger was the \u201cwild-man vocalist\u201d of a popular Motown-area punk rock band called \u201cCold as Life.\u201d His stage name was \u201cRawn Beauty,\u201d according to Revolver magazine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Werstine was arrested for the crime several days after Barger was shot in the head as he slept on Sept. 15, 1993, police said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Werstine, who was out on bail, failed to appear for trial in June 1994 and a warrant was issued for his arrest, police said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After that, Werstine vanished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe was a ghost since \u201894,\u201d a federal source told the NBC affiliate in Detroit, known as Local 4. \u201cHe was very cunning, very crafty while on the run.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Werstine\u2019s whereabouts after that weren\u2019t known.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In January 1999, Werstine was using the Stavros alias when he was charged with two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of disorderly conduct and shot several times by a Flagstaff police officer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NBC News has reached out to the Flagstaff police for more details on the confrontation and for information about what happened to Werstine after he was arrested then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The suspect had reportedly fired 14 shots before police arrived, was wounded when he pointed his weapon at the officers and \u201cindicated to police that he wouldn\u2019t be taken,\u201d according to an Associated Press article from 1999.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe was shot when he confronted officers rather than surrendering,\u201d the AP story said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He wasn\u2019t charged until after investigators sorted through his other aliases, which included Joseph Shnorock, Jim Kelley, Joe Schorck, James Elizarrey and James Blizarrey, the AP reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n