Illinois fugitive arrested in Poplar Bluff, wanted for armed robbery and kidnapping

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Officers with the Poplar Bluff Police Department arrested a man early this morning wanted out of Illinois for multiple felonies, including aggravated battery, attempted armed robbery and kidnapping.

At about 1:30 a.m. Patrolman Kenny Carpenter reportedly was sent to the 400 block of Karen Drive in reference to a black male named "Derek" being in the area and wanted on a felony warrant from Aurora, Ill.

"The only description given was a black male, wearing a white T-shirt," Carpenter said in his report.

Upon his arrival, Carpenter said, he and Cpl. Keith Hefner found a Nissan parked in front of a residence in the 500 block of Karen Drive and several subjects near the vehicle.

"As I approached the vehicle, I observed a black male with a white T-shirt sitting in the front passenger seat," Carpenter said.

When Carpenter asked the man if his name was "Derek," he said, the man answered affirmatively, identifying himself as Derek Shaw.

A records check on the 38-year-old revealed he was wanted on a warrant for aggravated

battery with a firearm, three counts of attempted armed robbery and three counts of aggravated kidnapping, with a bond of $1 million, and an FBI warrant for flight to avoid

prosecution, with no bond.

At that point, Carpenter said, Shaw, who listed an address in the 400 block of Karen Drive, was arrested and subsequently booked at the Butler County jail.

The charges against Shaw stem from a June 29 incident in Aurora, according to Dan Ferrelli, a spokesman for the Aurora Police Department.

"At about 1:13 p.m., the allegations are that Mr. Shaw, along with three other men, set up a tow-truck driver for a robbery," Ferrelli explained.

"When the tow-truck driver got to the location, Mr. Shaw and two of the other men attempted to rob him at gunpoint."

Ferrelli said the man, who allegedly had made the telephone call, knew the tow-truck driver, so he did not go to the site of the actual robbery.

"Unfortunately for these guys, the tow-truck driver struggled (and) the gun goes off," Ferrelli said. "The tow-truck driver was hit once in the leg."

At that point, Ferrelli said, the men "scoop him up and put him in their vehicle. They drive a short distance and the tow-truck driver jumps out. Then, they flee."

After the Illinois charges were filed in July, Ferrelli said, officers worked with the FBI

on acquiring the federal warrant for flight to avoid prosecution.

"Historically, we work very, very closely with the FBI in order to secure those types of warrants," he said.

Ferrelli expects Illinois authorities to begin extradition proceedings for Shaw, who they list as having a Chicago address.