Massachusetts man wanted for child porn charges is arrested in Lakewood
A Massachusetts man on their most wanted list has been arrested in New Jersey.
47-year-old Stephen C. Cote was arrested on Thursday as he got out of a car in the parking lot at the West Gate Development in Lakewood after the Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section and US Marshals developed information that he was hiding there, MSP said in a release.
Cote had been placed on the Massachusetts State Police Most Wanted Fugitives list
He had been wanted by the Massachusetts State Police, the Northampton Police Department and federal law enforcement authorities for receipt of material involving sexual exploitation of minors.
An arrest warrant for Cote was issued in November of 2015 after investigators put together evidence that he was in possession of child pornography.
Cote went on the run at that time and had been sought ever since.
MSP VFAS Troopers and US Marshals in Springfield recently developed information about his location and the vehicle he may be driving and they forwarded it to the NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force.
Members of that Task Force began working the case and on Thursday set up surveillance outside the Lakewood apartment complex where Cote was believed to be staying.
After several hours of surveillance, Task Force members, who were working with US Marshals and officers from the New Jersey State Police and New Jersey Department of Criminal Justice, spotted Cote driving into the lot in the suspected vehicle and then saw him park and get out.
Task Force members positively identified Cote and placed him into custody on an outstanding warrant.
MSP VFAS Troopers added Cote to the Department's list of Most Wanted Fugitives on June 25.
He'll be held until his arraignment in federal court in the near future.
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