{"id":677,"date":"2026-05-21T16:34:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T16:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=677"},"modified":"2026-05-21T16:34:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T16:34:22","slug":"man-accused-of-punk-rockers-death-in-1993-captured-after-decades-on-the-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=677","title":{"rendered":"Man accused of punk rocker\u2019s death in 1993 captured after decades on the run"},"content":{"rendered":"
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DETROIT (Gray News) – Authorities arrested a Detroit man accused of murder who has been on the run for more than three decades. <\/p>\n

Read more Couple charged after mother brings 3-year-old to hospital with strangulation marks, authorities say<\/a><\/p>\n

Richard Werstine, also known as Joseph Alan Stavros, 56, was taken into custody in Panama last month, the U.S. Marshals Service announced.<\/p>\n

Werstine was wanted for the Sept. 15, 1993, murder of his roommate, Rodney Barger, 23, who was the lead singer of the punk rock band Cold as Life. <\/p>\n

On April 29, authorities in Panama City arrested Werstine at an area dog park. The 56-year-old was in possession of fraudulent identification. Investigators said fingerprint analysis identified him as a wanted fugitive. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe U.S. Marshals Service takes crimes of this nature extremely seriously, given the violent nature of the alleged offense and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution,\u201d Owen Cypher, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Michigan, said.<\/p>\n

According to the U.S. Marshals, Werstine confessed to his true identity and being on the run, along with admitting to entering Panama illegally in 2005 while never obtaining legal status.<\/p>\n

Read more Child hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after near-drowning in Goodyear<\/a><\/p>\n

On Saturday, deputies said they traveled to Panama and worked with agents to have Werstine returned to the U.S. <\/p>\n

The Marshals Service noted that Werstine was initially arrested by Detroit police in 1993 for Barger\u2019s murder, but he failed to appear for the trial. In June 1994, a warrant was issued for his arrest.<\/p>\n

Authorities said Werstine had been arrested multiple times over the years, but was evading capture while using different aliases until he was finally tracked down in Panama City.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe dedication of all members of my staff who spearheaded the arrest of this fugitive, who has been on the run for over 30 years, is a testimony to their resolve,\u201d Cypher said. \u201cIt sends a message to fugitives that there is no place you can hide that the U.S. Marshals Service won\u2019t find you and bring you to justice.\u201d <\/p>\n

Read more US announces criminal case against former Cuban President Ra\u00fal Castro<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Authorities arrested a Detroit man accused of murder who has been on the run for more than three decades. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":676,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nMan accused of punk rocker\u2019s death in 1993 captured after decades on the run - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=677\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Man accused of punk rocker\u2019s death in 1993 captured after decades on the run - Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Authorities arrested a Detroit man accused of murder who has been on the run for more than three decades.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=677\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-21T16:34:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=677#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=677\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\"},\"headline\":\"Man accused of punk rocker\u2019s death in 1993 captured after decades on the run\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-21T16:34:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=677\"},\"wordCount\":365,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=677#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/575e4ef3ab363ba7e8ec0509720f3779.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=677#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=677\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=677\",\"name\":\"Man accused of punk rocker\u2019s death in 1993 captured after decades on the run - 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