Fugitive Arrested in Hannibal Friday

A Hannibal man wanted by authorities in two states for the last two years was taken into custody Friday.

In a press release, Marion County Sheriff Jimmy Shinn reports that deputies executed a search warrant at a residence at 1308 Collier in Hannibal at 8:55 p.m. Friday.

The search warrant had been issued based on information that 36 year old John Watkins, Jr. was at the residence.

Watkins had been on the run since 2015. He has active felony warrants in Missouri and Illinois for financial exploitation of the elderly.

Watkins was taken into custody and is in the Marion County Jail awaiting extradition.