Nashville, TN – A joint investigation involving the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office and the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office has yielded the apprehension of Stephen Eugene Beck in Wilmington, North Carolina.
The Wilson County Sheriff’s Office requested that TBI add Beck to the state’s Top Ten Most Wanted fugitive list after he failed to report to court in Wilson County on July 25th, 2011.
TBI Special Agents, U.S. Marshal Service personnel, Wilson County deputies, and Rutherford County deputies have searched for over 2 ½ years for Beck in an investigation that involved hundreds of tips, over a thousand leads, and across 17 states.In February 2014, TBI developed information that Beck had been living in the Johnson City, TN area and was actively avoiding capture.
Eventually, it was learned that Beck moved to Wilmington, North Carolina last June. TBI Special Agents and Deputy U.S. Marshals were searching for Beck in the Wilmington area for the past few months. That investigation led U.S. Marshals personnel to 124 Dapple Court in Wilmington, North Carolina, where Beck was found to be living under a stolen identity.
Beck was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals Service personnel. Drugs and drug paraphernalia were seized from the apartment subsequent to Beck’s arrest. Beck will be booked into the New Hanover County Jail to await extradition as well as face local charges.
Stephen Beck, age 40, was wanted for felony failure to appear in court after not reporting to Wilson County Criminal Court on July 25th, 2011 to enter a plea or set a trial date. In August of 2010, Beck was charged in Wilson County on 6 counts of Rape of a Child and 14 counts of Rape.
Beck was also indicted in August 2010 in Rutherford County on 3 counts of rape of a child. He was out on $150,000 bond in Wilson County and a $1 million dollar bond in Rutherford County.