Brown Picked Up In Georgia

During the evening hours of January 3, 2010, detectives with the DeKalb County Police Department in Georgia received information from an alert AMW tipster placing escaped convict Manson Brown at a nearby Georgia gas station.

Dispatchers quickly alerted officers, who reported to the advised location. Officers located Brown, who they say used an alias in an attempt to conceal his identity.

The arresting officer checked Brown's alias, 'Thomas Brown,' and found a match in the police databases.

Police took Brown into custody at 11:31 p.m. without conflict.  Brown was wanted for escape.

Police: Brown Reached Out And Touched Someone

When Manson Brown escaped from a Massachusetts prison in November, police quickly combed the wooded area surrounding it. Brown didn't disappear without a trace -- cops found his prison ID card tucked inside a newspaper.

That newspaper was the one announcing his indictment on rape charges for a 1996 rape that cops think incited him to pack up his stuff, gather survival supplies, and hit the road.

But Brown didn't just take off with a few snacks. Cops think Brown might have had a cell phone with him. Authorities believe he may have used it to call for a ride once he got past the wooded area surrounding the prison.

Cops: Brown's Criminal Past Expanding

In 2005, a Massachusetts court convicted Manson Brown of armed robbery, home invasion, and weapons charges.

Before starting a ten year sentence, he gave a DNA sample  in accordance with state law.

In July 2009, Brown moved to a minimum security facility in Bridgewater, Mass., where he was to serve out the remainder of his time until he was up for parole in 2012.

On November 19, the Middlesex County District Attorney indicted Brown for a 1996 home invasion and rape in which Brown allegedly raped a woman while she lay next to her two-year-old son.

The state crime lab matched Brown’s DNA sample to one of their ongoing cold case investigations. Brown was unaware of the indictment.

On November 27, one of Brown’s prison buddies alerted him that he was being accused of the 13-year-old crimes.

At roll call that evening, Brown was discovered to have escaped  from the Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater, Mass.
 
“It’s clear to us that the escape was sparked by the media’s account of his new indictment,” says Dave Percopio of the Massachusetts State Police.

AMW Capture #1100

Escapee Arrested In Dekalb, Georgia

In 2005, a Massachusetts state court sentenced Manson Brown to 10 years in prison for an array of violent crimes, including armed robbery, home invasion and weapon charges.

After four years, Brown was moved to a minimum security facility in Bridgewater, Mass. where he was intended to fulfill the rest of his sentence -- but something provoked Brown’s unexpected and swift escape.

Dave Percopio of the Massachusetts State Police said the reason for Brown’s hasty escape is quite simple: “The escape was sparked by the media’s account of his new indictment.”  The indictment, issued Nov. 19, 2009, by the Middlesex County District Attorney, accused Brown of a 1996 home invasion and rape.

When police originally incarcerated Brown, they took a DNA sample for a national criminal database.  Once police entered Brown’s genetic information into the database, the crime lab matched Brown’s DNA to the DNA found at the 1996 rape scene.

Police believe Brown caught wind of the indictment Nov. 27 when a fellow inmate alerted him after reading about the indictment in a newspaper. Brown fled the Bridgewater facility shortly after.

Weeks passed and police had no idea where Brown had gone. Authorities canvassed the areas around the prison with no avail. Eventually, the Massachusetts State Police turned to America’s Most Wanted for help.

On Jan. 3, 2010, members of the DeKalb County Police Department in Georgia received a shocking call. An anonymous tipster alerted local authorities to a man that resembled Brown at a nearby gas station.

Police immediately reported to the advised location and questioned the man thought to be Brown.

According to police, when an officer confronted Brown, he used an alias to conceal his identity.

The arresting officer checked Brown's alias, "Thomas Brown," and found a match in the police databases.

Police took Brown into custody at 11:31 p.m., without any conflict.  He is being held in Georgia, where he awaits an extradition hearing.