Utica’s 1st Homicide Of 2012 Solved, Extradition Awaits

Utica, NY (WIBX) - The suspect and subsequent fugitive accused of committing Utica's first homicide of the year, is in police custody. Police Chief Mark Williams says investigators nabbed 42-year-old Jamal Gadson in Mocksville, North Carolina yesterday afternoon around 4:00, without incident.

He was found hiding at his aunts house. "Members of a joint fugitive task force office of the U.S. Marshals Office, along with their colleagues in North Carolina, were able to surround the house and eventually take Gadson into custody. Currently the extradition process is underway to bring him back to Oneida County to face charges," said Chief Williams.

Gadson is facing a 2nd Degree Murder charge once he's extradited back to Oneida County, which according to Chief Williams, could take several weeks, if not months. Officials say the suspect fled the Utica area soon after the July 23rd shooting death of 32-year-old Jermaine Stubbs--a Culinary student at Mohawk Valley Community College.

Investigators say the two men knew each other prior to their dispute at a Varick Street bar. The argument, which officials say involved several people at Shots Bar, spilled to another area of town and led to Gadson allegedly shooting Stubbs multiple times on Lenox Avenue in Utica. Gadson is being held in the Davie County Detention Center in Mocksville, NC.

Williams says there is still an on-going investigation and the gun used to commit the crime has not been found. However, Williams says solving the year's first homicide case was an important goal. "Honestly, it's public confidence and trust in both the police department and our other law enforcement entities that we're doing a proper job here," He said.