Fugitive Photos on Facebook Yield Arrests

Pasco County Sheriff’s deputies want to find Steven Ballow, and they are turning to Facebook to see if folks have information on his whereabouts.

Ballow, 42, of Holiday, is accused of stalking a person younger than 16 and is wanted on a Pasco County warrant.

He was put in the virtual spotlight Wednesday, April 10, when he was featured on new Fugitive of the Day series on the sherff's office's Facebok page. Fugitive of the Day invites the public to share information with the agency that could to a fugitive's arrest.

The series is a new project on the agency Facebook page that features a wanted man or woman in each edition and a photo of him or her, describes why the person is being sought and asks the public for help in finding the suspect.

“We’re using cutting-edge technology,” said Sheriff Chris Nocco.

So far, three people featured in a Fugitive of the Day post have been caught, according to the sheriff’s office. Tips left on the Fugitive of the Day posts direcly led to two fugitives being arrested, Nocco said.

Nocco said the purpose of Fugitive if the Day is to get citizens involved in making their communities safer.

“This is an opportunity for them to be active with us in providing us information on people out there who are fugitives of the law,” Nocco said.  

The people featured in the Fugitive of the Day posts are “serious offenders,” Nocco said, like those involved in robberies and major burglaries. He said the agency has 5,000 felony warrants that are out there. 

Sgt. Dan Olds, who leads the warrants unit, said people have left tips on the Facebook posts and also submitted them to the sheriff’s office website. He said it took three days to catch one fugitive after the fugitive had been featured in the Facebook series and a little longer for the other fugitives.  

He said that one fugitive, Frederick Quijano, even commented on his Fugitive of the Day post.

“I think he was just trying to taunt us out of aggravation, but what it ended up doing was allowing us to have a public acknowledgement of the fact that he has a warrant,” Olds said.

Quijano, who was wanted for robbery, was later arrested.

Olds said that Quijano has been the only suspect to respond on Facebook to being featured. 

“Some people don’t like what we’re doing and say that it’s snitching, but its just people watching out for their own community,” Olds said. “ Right now, we have a gentleman that’s been stalking a person under the age of 16, and I don’t think anybody could really defend that.”    

Warrants detective Patrick Moccaldi talked about the feature as he drove to attempt an arrest.

He was looking for Johnny Young, who has not been featured in a Fugitive of the Day post.  Young was wanted on a Pinellas County warrant fordrg-related charges. Moccaldi and others found him at Port Richey home Thursday and arrested him.

Moccaldi said “nothing but good” has come of the Fugitive of the Day feature and that “it’s a great idea.”

 “It’s definitely going to take off,” he said.

Want to check out the Fugitive of the Day? Visit the sheriff's office on Facebook.