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Oklahoma Fugitive Who Faked 2012 Abduction Arrested in New York After Years as SUNY Student

Investigators say new information led them to a SUNY Canton student using an alias.

Overview

  • He was taken into custody on Oct. 30 at a grocery store in Canton, New York, identified by fingerprints, and is being held in Syracuse.
  • Authorities say he lived as Justin Phillips with a state-issued ID, enrolled at SUNY Canton in fall 2024, and the school suspended and barred him from campus on Oct. 31.
  • Lennon was charged in Oklahoma in 2012 after a friend found about 50 gigabytes of child sexual abuse material, and officials say he later staged a bloody kidnapping at a Moore motel to evade arrest.
  • The U.S. Marshals Service reports that years of tips led investigators through Nevada and Tennessee before undisclosed new information pointed to Canton.
  • An identity hearing is set for Nov. 19 in Syracuse, while Oklahoma officials highlight his addition to the state’s Ten Most Wanted list and New York police probe how he obtained identification under the alias.