Search area resident stopped repeatedly as suspect sought
CANADENSIS — A northeastern Pennsylvania resident said he's been stopped more than 20 times by authorities who have mistaken him for a man sought in the killing of a state trooper, including one encounter at gunpoint that left him fearing for his life.
James Tully, 39, of Canadensis, said he wears his ID prominently around his neck as he walks to work each day through the wooded area where authorities are looking for Eric Frein. Nevertheless, he said he was once stopped about seven times in a single day.
“I'm worried about what is going to happen with the next one,” Tully said. “Is he going to shoot first and ask questions later?”
Trooper Tom Kelly, a police spokesman, said the agency will investigate any formal complaint.
Police have been searching for Frein in the woods around Canadensis since an ambush outside their barracks Sept. 12 left one trooper dead and another seriously wounded. Authorities describe Frein, who grew up in the area, as a survivalist and expert marksman who hates law enforcement.
Tully, a father of two, said he walks five miles each way to his job at a manufacturing company because he doesn't own a car. He carries a backpack, which police believe Frein has done. On Oct. 17, Tully said he was walking home when a driver in tactical gear pulled over, pointed a rifle at him and forced him down on the ground, putting a knee in his back. Tully said the man never identified himself, but let him go after another officer vouched for Tully.
“This guy apparently had delusions of grandeur that he would be the one to catch Frein,” said Tully's father, Bob Tully. “We completely commiserate with the police, but this guy went full commando on my son.”
James Tully said he went to the hospital and was diagnosed with bruised ribs. He now wears a reflective vest. A woman has created an account to buy Tully a car.
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