Collaborative Law Enforcement Effort
Nets America's Most Wanted Fugitive


Thomas Lollis

July 14, 2008

Peter J. Elliott, United States Marshal for the Northern District of Ohio, and Police Chief Michael T. Matulavich, Akron Police Department, announce the arrest of America’s Most Wanted (AMW) Fugitive Thomas Lollis. Lollis was arrested at approximately1300 hours today by the United States Marshals Service Gulf Coast Violent Offenders and Fugitive Task Force (GCVOFTF), with assistance from the Houston Police Department and the Harris County Sheriff’s Department in the 10000 block of W. Park Rd., Houston, TX. Task Force Officers from the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force and the GCVOFTF developed leads that led them to Lollis who was residing in Houston, TX.

When Task Force Officers approached the apartment to apprehend Lollis, he dove out a second story window and fled from officers. Lollis then entered another apartment damaging property and barreling over a minor child, where he kicked a window out and dove into an enclosed patio where Task Force Officers were able to subdue him.

Lollis is charged with the shooting death of a 29 year old black male that occurred at the corner of 9th and Settlement in Akron, OH on the 5th of July, 2007. Lollis was believed to be in a verbal argument when he retrieved a weapon from a nearby parked vehicle and shot the victim 4 times.

Lollis has been on the run since July of 2007, and was aired on the television show America’s Most Wanted twice since the date of the incident

Lollis was transported to a hospital in Houston for a foot injury he incurred from his jump from the second story window and will be lodged at the Harris County Jail, Houston, TX awaiting extradition back to the Akron area.

U.S. Marshal Peter J. Elliott states, “The arrest of Thomas Lollis reinforces that partnerships developed by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies are truly beneficial to the communities of Summit County.”

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of a known fugitive is encouraged to contact the U.S. Marshals Service at: 1-866-4-WANTED. Callers may remain anonymous.

The Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force in Summit County is composed of the following federal, state, and local agencies: U.S. Marshals Service, Summit County Sheriff’s Office, City of Akron Police Department, State of Ohio Adult Parole Authority, Summit County Prosecutor’s Office, U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. Local city police departments include: Aurora, Barberton, Bath, Boston Heights, Copley Twp., Cuyahoga Falls, Kent, Lakemore, Norton, Reminderville, Silver Lake, Stow, Twinsburg, and the University of Akron.