‘Armed and dangerous’ man charged with murder in Moorhead is captured hundreds of miles away

A 35-year-old “armed and dangerous” man charged with fatally shooting a man in Moorhead has been captured hundreds of miles away, officials said.

Jerome Anthony Thomas III of Moorhead was charged Tuesday with two counts of second-degree murder and one count each of attempted first-degree and attempted second-degree murder in connection with the flurry of gunfire about 9:30 a.m. Sunday in the 2700 block of 14th Street S.

A nationwide warrant was issued for Thomas’ arrest after he fled the scene in a green newer model midsize Chevy SUV.

The murder victim was identified by officials as James Earl Hamilton, 39, of Moorhead.

State Police in Michigan, alerted that Thomas were believed to be their area, announced Monday that he and a 32-year-old female accomplice were found nearly 500 miles from the crime scene in the Upper Peninsula.

Both were arrested, jailed in Marquette County and await extradition back to Minnesota.

The accomplice, identified in Minnesota court records as 32-year-old Abby Fredrickson of Moorhead, is charged with aiding an offender in second-degree murder.

While the hunt was still on for Thomas, Moorhead police cautioned the public that he should be “considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached.”

According to the charges, which did not offer a motive for the shooting, and a related court document:

Officers responded to reported gunfire and arrived to find Hamilton dead in a driveway with a gunshot wound to the head.

Surveillance video from nearby homes revealed to police that Hamilton and a juvenile were in the driveway when three gunshots were heard as Fredrickson’s green Chevrolet Trax with a temporary Indiana plate drove by. The juvenile told police that he recognized the driver and sole occupant of the SUV as Thomas.

A female parked nearby told police that Thomas drove up to her vehicle, got out and slammed his fist against the driver’s side window before firing one shot at her that missed. Thomas then drove off.

Also, the complaint continued, Thomas’ phone “was tracked to the Duluth area, where it has remained stationary for a significant amount of time.”Police searched Fredrickson’s Moorhead home and showed neighbors a photo of Thomas. They confirmed he had been living there with Fredrickson.

The search turned up clothing Thomas was wearing at the time of the shooting, an empty gun box and ammunition that appears to be the same caliber as casings recovered by police at the scene of the gunfire.