Most Wanted

Ralph "Bucky" Phillips has been added to the US Marshal's 15 most wanted fugitives list. The escaped convict is suspected of killing a New York State trooper and wounding two others as well as a string of burglaries and car thefts. Police have recovered 35 of 41 guns that were stolen from a gun shop at a home in Western Pennsylvania. Phillips is suspected in that theft. Quite a few people who are suspected of helping the fugitive are currently in jail.

The search for Ralph "Bucky" Phillips, a career thief who broke out of an Erie County jail in April, has become one of the largest in New York history.

Authorities believe Phillips has been helped by numerous people since his escape, but has also broken into unoccupied hunting cabins in New York and Pennsylvania and stolen about 15 cars to remain one step ahead of police, authorities said.

Phillips may have spent 11 days hiding out in a western Pennsylvania home last month, slipping back into New York at least once to steal 41 guns from a gun shop, authorities said Wednesday.

As New York lawmen searched for Phillips in the rural wooded areas of the southwestern tip of the state, he was staying — at least some of the time — at the home of Todd Allen Nelson in Ludlow, Pa., Pennsylvania state police said.

Nelson, 30, was charged Aug. 31 with hindering the apprehension of Phillips after Pennsylvania troopers recovered 35 guns believed stolen from an Ellington, N.Y., gun shop at his home.

Phillips, 44, is the main suspect in the gun shop break-in.

"We know now that a total of 35 firearms are in the custody of law enforcement," said ATF spokesman Joseph Green. "The remaining weapons are two pistols, one shotgun, and three high-powered rifles that are still unaccounted for and we are actively seeking those weapons and seeking information."

Earlier posts with links to photos and wanted posters are here and here. Authorities are warning hunters to stay out of the woods and are offering a very large reward of $225,000 for information leading to Phillips capture. This guy is heavily armed and very dangerous, folks.