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Fugitive captured in Ireland

Thomas Clouse
Staff writer
October 24, 2005

Frederick Russell appears in court in Colfax Oct. 11, 2001, regarding vehicular homicide charges stemming from a fatal wreck between Pullman and Moscow. (File/The Spokesman-Review) Related stories Fugitive makes U.S. Marshals' 'Most Wanted' list (1/15/2005) Former professor sentenced to six months(7/1/2004)

A former Washington State University student, who has been on the lam for four years since authorities said he caused the collision that killed three people near Pullman, was apprehended Sunday in Ireland where he was working as a security guard.

The U.S. Marshals Service alerted Whitman County authorities Sunday night that Frederick Russell, 27, was captured in or near Dublin, Ireland, said Carol La Verne, chief criminal deputy Whitman County Prosecutor.

“We are not celebrating until he gets back to the United States,” La Verne said. “Extradition is a long and tedious process, and not always successful.”

Federal authorities received a tip in January that Russell was working in Dublin. The tipster, who was working in Dublin at the time, recognized Russell from a photo not long after it was added to the U.S. Marshals Office “Top 15 Most Wanted” list, said Mike Kline, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Washington.

Since then, marshals have been working with other federal agencies to work through a complicated extradition process.

Russell, who had been using the alias “David Caroll,” had been working as a security guard at a lady’s boutique. An undercover Irish detective had been providing surveillance of Russell, Kline said.

“The last nine months have been nerve wracking,” Kline said in a press release. “The Marshals Service knew exactly where Frederick Russell was, but could not act on its own in a foreign country. We knew that one leak could have caused Frederick Russell to flee and disappear again.”

He is currently in the custody of Irish authorities, Kline said.

“We’ve been going through the process that is required by the Irish Government,” Kline said.

Russell’s pending charges stem from a June 4, 2001, collision on state Highway 270 between Pullman and Moscow.

Russell was driving a 1989 Chevrolet Blazer east toward Moscow when he pulled into the westbound lane in a no-passing zone, according to the Washington State Patrol.

The Blazer sideswiped a 1994 Chevrolet Geo coming west. The Geo driver lost control, crossed the eastbound lane and came to rest in a ditch, according to the WSP report.

The Blazer also lost control but continued east. Branden S. Clements, 22, of Wapato was driving a 1978 Cadillac with six passengers westbound. Clements apparently saw the Blazer and braked and swerved to avoid the collision. But the Blazer struck the car on the driver’s side, witnesses said.

Clements, Stacey Morrow, 21, of Milton and 21-year-old Ryan Sorensen of Westport were pronounced dead at the scene. Two of the other four passenger suffered serious injuries but survived.

At the hospital after the crash, Russell – who suffered only minor injuries – had a blood-alcohol content of .12 percent.

Russell disappeared on Oct. 23, 2001, which was three days before he was scheduled for a pre-trial hearing. He was arrested Sunday, which was four years to the day he fled, Kline said.

The extradition process is governed by a treaty between Ireland and the United States, Kline said. But it’s far from a sure thing. Ireland has denied the last 18 attempts to extradite suspects back to the U.S., Kline said.

“It’s a really delicate balance. Whether or not Fred new that in advance and went their intentionally for that benefit, we may never know,” Kline said.

Russell is scheduled to appear Tuesday at a hearing.

“I understand that he can use that hearing to request bail,” Kline said. “And it’s also my understanding that it’s very likely that he would be granted bail.”

Greg Russell said he was in Portland when his son disappeared. Federal authorities alerted Greg Russell, who now lives in Jonesboro, Ark., of the arrest of his son late Sunday, Kline said.

But the case also led to the conviction of one his father’s colleagues.

Bernadette Olson, 35, pleaded guilty in March 2004 in federal court in Spokane to lying to investigators about her interactions with Russell at the time of his disappearance in October 2001.

Later the same month in 2004, Olson resigned from her post as assistant professor of criminal justice and legal studies, according to a news release from the University of West Florida. She had been in the job for less than a year.

Olson’s connection to Russell may have been through his father, Greg Russell. Olson was a graduate student at Washington State University where Greg Russell was Olson’s key professor and the head of her doctoral committee.

Greg Russell did not return a call today to his home.

No one else has been charged in connection with the case, La Verne said.

“It’s just been a weight on everybody’s mind and I’m glad they got him,” she said.

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