"Mashpee man on Mass. Most Wanted list arrested in Fla." by Sara DiNatale Globe Correspondent June 23, 2015
A Mashpee man on the State Police Most Wanted Fugitives list was captured Tuesday in Florida where he apparently fled after being accused in two incidents on Cape Cod involving the stabbing of one man and opening fire on another man whose child was nearby.
William L. Benton, 22, was taken into custody in Tarpon Springs after an investigation by the State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section.
“We considered him to be dangerous and possibly armed” and finding him was a priority, State Police spokesman David Procopio said Tuesday.
According to State Police, Benton was added to the top 10 of the Most Wanted list in early June after he failed to make court dates in Barnstable County on Cape Cod.
Officers from the US Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested Benton at about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, said Deputy James Badway of the US Marshals office in Tampa.
Benton recently rented a bedroom off Craigslist in Tarpon Springs, about an hour away from Tampa, which was the tip that led law enforcement to his location, Badway said.
Before fleeing to Florida, Benton allegedly stabbed a man four times in the torso after an argument in Yarmouth on April 18, State Police said. The victim needed life-saving surgery at Cape Cod Hospital. Benton was charged with attempted murder and assault and battery in that incident.
Less than a month later, on May 10, Benton allegedly got into an argument with another man and opened fire with a handgun, shooting at the man even though his child was nearby at Keyes Memorial Beach in Hyannis, State Police said. Neither was injured and Barnstable police arrested Benton a short time later, according to authorities.
Benton failed to show up for his court date. There are multiple warrants out for him in Barnstable County, where he faces charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, aggravated assault, intimidation of a witness, threats to commit a crime, and multiple firearm and motor vehicle offenses, according to State Police.
Benton is being held pending rendition to Massachusetts.
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