Suspect on Most Wanted Fugitives List Caught in New Bedford

NEW BEDFORD — Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III has announced that one of the defendants listed on the Bristol County Most Wanted Fugitives List was taken back into custody.

Daniel Ballem, 34, of New Bedford was taken into custody on Monday, June 24 in New Bedford.

Quinn says Ballem cut off his GPS monitoring device and fled from the courthouse on June 17 after failing a drug test as part of his probation. An arrest warrant was issued and police on Monday located and apprehended him on First Avenue in New Bedford. Members of D.A. Quinn’s State Police Unit, the Massachusetts State Police’s Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section and New Bedford Police worked jointly to bring this defendant back into custody.

"I'm very pleased with the rapid response in apprehending the defendant. The fact he cut off his GPS bracelet in court demonstrates that he was not a good risk to appear in court on his own," District Attorney Quinn said. "Unfortunately, electronic monitoring is not an effective deterrent in cases of this type. This case again illustrates that we will devote the resources to apprehending serious fugitives."

On August 14, 2013, at 12:30 p.m., New Bedford Police were notified that Ballem was in the area of Central Liquors and was in possession of a firearm. When police arrived, they found him to be in possession of a fully loaded 9mm illegal handgun. After serving committed time for the crime, Ballem was arrested again in October of 2018 for malicious destruction of a motor vehicle in New Bedford. He was convicted of that charge in February 2019 and was placed on probation. He was in court on June 17 because he had allegedly violated the terms of his probation by missing scheduled drug screens, Quinn said.

For more information about the Bristol County Most Wanted Fugitives initiative and the anonymous Text-A-Tip Program, visit the website or Facebook page.