Ronald L. Fischer, one of Rhode Island’s most wanted fugitives, was arrested Thursday on a sailboat in the East River near New York after spending more than two decades evading law enforcement, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
Deputy U.S. Marshals and U.S. Coast Guard personnel intercepted Fischer on the 56-foot sailing vessel The Silver Lining, registered under an alias, approximately one hour offshore. He was taken into custody without incident and transported to Coast Guard Station Staten Island.
Fischer, 70, fled Rhode Island in 2005 during his criminal trial on sexual assault charges in Newport. He was subsequently convicted in absentia of First-Degree Sexual Assault and remained wanted for failure to appear, first-degree sexual assault, and flight to avoid prosecution.
The Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force, working with the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Rhode Island State Police, and U.S. Coast Guard, developed investigative leads over 48 hours that led to Fischer’s location in New York. Investigators determined Fischer was operating the vessel under the alias Richard Graydon.
Before fleeing, Fischer wrote to his attorney that he believed his trial had gone well but feared the consequences of a potential conviction. “I have therefore decided not to take the risk and to leave the US and enjoy life in another country,” he wrote at the time, according to reporting by WPRI.
Fischer was featured multiple times on the television program America’s Most Wanted during his time as a fugitive, Rhode Island State Police said.
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