Suspect Captured 15 Years Later

A man wanted for an armed robbery 15 years ago was finally apprehended this month after being stopped at a border crossing near Mexico.

Dalion Baskerville, 41, of Philadelphia, had been arrested on the charge by Philadelphia police in 1992, but officials there say New Jersey authorities never came to pick him up and he was freed after 90 days.

Baskerville's lawyer said his client has lived at the same address since 1992.

"Did somebody look for him?" Judge John Tomasello questioned the prosecutor during the bail hearing.

Baskerville was headed to Cancun for a vacation when he was stopped at the checkpoint last week. When Mexican authorities searched an FBI database, they found a warrant for his arrest and denied him entry.

He was then arrested when he returned to Philadelphia and was returned to Gloucester County on Monday. Baskerville will face charges stemming from the 1988 robbery of a Mantua Township supermarket.

County authorities had sent a letter in 2002 to Baskerville's home -- which is about 20 miles from Woodbury -- and asked him to return and face the charges. However, it does not appear that anyone went to his home at that time.

Prosecutors said Baskerville -- who maintains his innocence -- used alternate Social Security numbers and birth dates to elude capture. However, he applied for and received a passport earlier this year, using his correct Social Security number and address.

Despite objections from prosecutors, a judge agreed Friday to reduce Baskerville's bail from $50,000 to $25,000. And his lawyer, Seth Belson, said he will seek a speedy trial for his client.

"Unequivocally, the state has done little to nothing in 14 years" to find Baskerville, Belson said.

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Author: NBC10/AP