# Mississippi Reservist Helps Track Down 'Most Wanted' Fugitive



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

*Sun Herald, The (Biloxi, MS) (KRT)*
_via NewsEdge Corporation_

Jan. 27--GULFPORT -- Authorities credit a Bay St. Louis reserve police officer with helping track down one of the state's "most wanted" fugitives, a man accused of raping a 10-year-old girl who conceived a child.

An eight-year search for Jimmy D. Polite, formerly of Clarksdale, ended Wednesday, as first reported at www.sunherald.com, as authorities arrested him at his home in Lakeland, Fla. Information provided by Tom Fairley of Bay St. Louis police was invaluable in helping locate Polite, FBI spokeswoman Deborah Madden confirmed.

Polite was wanted on rape charges from Coahoma County, where he allegedly had sex with a girl more than once in 1996. She was 11 when she gave birth to a daughter, said Coahoma County Sheriff Andrew Thompson.

Polite is in custody without bond at the Polk County, Fla., jail pending extradition to Coahoma County.

"Right now I'm really jubilant about it," Thompson said. "This was the hottest and longest fugitive case of my 18 years in office. I hope this can bring some good closure to the young lady who has been terrorized and traumatized."

Polite was out on bond when a grand jury indicted him on a rape charge in 1997. He disappeared, along with his wife, officials said. A federal warrant issued in 2001 charged him with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. The FBI and the state Department of Public Safety added his name to their "most wanted" lists.

A tip from Fairley passed from the FBI's Jackson field office to its Tampa division, leading to Polite's arrest without incident, said Madden. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Polk County Sheriff's Department assisted in his arrest.

Fairley, 51, a private investigator, said he worked on the case off and on for several years.

"I knew (Polite) would pop up one day," Thompson said. "We exhausted every possible resource. I can't tell you how much I appreciate what Tom and the other officers have done."

Polite is the 14th fugitive from Mississippi that Fairley has helped track down, according to state and federal agencies.

"He's good at what he does," said Bay Police Chief Frank McNeil.

Reserve police officers are not paid.

"I don't do it for money," said Fairley. "I do it to help people get justice."

<<Sun Herald, The (Biloxi, MS) (KRT) -- 01/30/06>>


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