Rape suspect caught by California police

By Sara Jean Green
Seattle Times Eastside bureau

	James Miller
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A nationwide manhunt for a former Redmond man wanted in a series of child rapes and molestations ended yesterday morning with his arrest in Northern California.

King County prosecutors charged James "Jimmy" Miller, 64, with 11 counts of child rape and child molestation last fall. By the time prosecutors put their case together, Miller had moved and was living with his sister in Illinois. He was arrested there in September 2002.

But in February, Miller, who has a heart condition, disappeared en route to a doctor's appointment while officials here awaited medical clearance to transport him to face trial. A few days later, he was spotted in Redmond, near the house where one of his alleged victims lives.

"It's absolutely, totally gratifying" to have Miller in custody, said U.S. Marshal Eric Robertson. Miller's alleged victims are seven children who were 13 or younger at the time of the abuse, which prosecutors say began in August 1995 and ended in January 2001.

King County Sheriff's officials brought the Miller case to the attention of the Pacific Northwest Fugitive Apprehension Taskforce, Robertson said. The task force was able to pass a lead to the U.S. Marshal's service in Northern California, which in turn contacted police in Eureka, Calif., he said.

A Eureka officer on his way to work spotted a man fitting Miller's description walking along Highway 101 yesterday morning, Robertson said. Miller "was living under an assumed name, living in a homeless shelter, but we'd heard he was getting ready to go on the move," possibly to Alaska, Robertson said.

Miller was later identified when his fingerprints were entered into a federal database, said Redmond police spokeswoman Stacey Holland. Today, a Redmond detective is on her way to Eureka, a coastal town almost 300 miles northwest of Sacramento, she said.

Miller is being held at Humboldt County Correctional Facility and is expected to make his first court appearance there tomorrow, Holland said. She couldn't say how long it would take before Miller might be brought back to King County.

Sara Jean Green: 206-515-5654 or sgreen@seattletimes.com

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