A convicted sex offender who allegedly ran off with a 14-year-old Cottage Grove girl last month was arrested Wednesday by U.S. marshals in New Mexico.
Alexius J. McMullin, 37, who is wanted on felony warrants in Hennepin and Washington counties and has a violent history, was taken into custody without incident in Albuquerque, said Thomas Volk, U.S. deputy marshal.
Angi Tschida was reported missing to Cottage Grove police by her mother, Brigette, on July 2. Three weeks later, she was taken into protective custody by Las Vegas police after she approached a security guard at a Greyhound bus station -- after phoning her distraught mother. But the hunt for McMullin continued.
Marshals, working with information provided by Cottage Grove police, arrested McMullin at an apartment building. He next faces an extradition hearing to determine if he will be brought back to Minnesota. He could also face federal charges, Volk said.
McMullin is charged in Hennepin County with failing to register as a sex offender. A nationwide warrant was issued on that charge, Volk said.
McMullin was convicted in March 2009 of making terroristic threats. His ex-girlfriend accused him of hitting and choking her, threatening her with a samurai sword and sexually assaulting her. He was last known to be serving his probation in a Minneapolis halfway house.
Brigette Tschida said she had been in a relationship with McMullin, but after they broke up he began contacting her daughter, unbeknownst to her. He fled after police learned of the relationship.
JIM ANDERSON
