U.S. Marshals Task Force Arrests Dauphin County Megan's Law Offender in Greenville, NC

Harrisburg, PA – Today, U.S. Marshal Martin J. Pane announced that the United States Marshals Service (USMS) Fugitive Task Force arrested Fontel Waddell – a convicted sex offender last registered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

On Apr. 30, 2008, Waddell was convicted of Indecent Assault upon a Minor in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. This conviction required him to register as a sex offender. In December of 2012, Waddell registered an address in Harrisburg. At that time, he was also under the supervision of the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole.

Later that same month, the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole issued a warrant for Waddell’s arrest after he absconded from supervision. On Sept. 6, 2013, the Harrisburg Bureau of Police obtained an arrest warrant charging Waddell with failing to update his sex offender registration information. In October of 2013, officials of the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole requested that the USMS Fugitive Task Force assist in locating and arresting Waddell.

Deputy Marshals from the Harrisburg office pursued leads in Pennsylvania and Maryland, which led them to believe that Waddell had fled to North Carolina. In early April of 2014, an investigative lead was sent to the USMS office in Greenville, North Carolina.

Investigators learned Waddell was living under the alias name of Nathaniel Kobelt. Today, at about 10:15 AM, Deputy Marshals arrested Waddell without incident at an apartment in the 3300 block of Moseley Drive in Greenville. Waddell was detained at the Pitt County Detention Center in North Carolina, to await extradition to Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.

Waddell remains under investigation for violations of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 – which made it a federal crime for a convicted sex offender to flee across state lines to avoid sex offender registration requirements. It also designated the USMS as the federal agency responsible for helping local and state authorities locate and arrest convicted sex offenders who fail to comply with their registration requirements.

United States Marshal Pane said, “This case clearly demonstrates both the Marshals Service’s commitment to locating and arresting fugitive sex offenders, as well as its outstanding relationship with state and local police agencies across the nation.”