MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Officials from the US Marshals Service Mountain State Fugitive Task Force say a 33-year-old murder suspect from Ohio has been arrested in Morgantown.
Investigators say Andre Warren shot Dominique Thomas three times outside a restaurant in Akron, Ohio on July 1, 2018. The suspect arrested in Morgantown, Bryan Darshawn Esters, 33, allegedly shot Thomas four more times in back while he laying face down on the ground. A second 20-year-old victim was shot but survived.
Andre Warren was sentenced to life in prison for the crime following a conviction in April of 2019.
Esters was arrested for aggravated murder and felonious assault Tuesday around 6:30 p.m. at an apartment on Cornell Avenue after several hours of surveillance. Esters was wanted by the Akron Police Department for almost two years before the arrest.
U.S. Marshals in Ohio received information he was in Morgantown over the weekend and forwarded that to members of the US Marshals Service Mountain State Fugitive Task Force who tracked him to the Cornell Avenue apartment.
After several hours of surveillance, Deputy US Marshals, Fugitive Task Force Officers, and Morgantown City Officers attempted to call Esters out of the residence to surrender. After a short period of time, Esters surrendered without incident. Following the arrest, the Mon Metro Drug Task Force was contacted due to suspected narcotics and a firearm being located in the residence.
The investigation into drug activity is ongoing.
Esters will be charged as a fugitive from justice and will be held in the North Central Regional Jail before his appearance in Monongalia County court before extradition back to Ohio.