Fugitive in machete attack on dog captured
One of Massachusetts’ most wanted fugitives — a heavily tattooed ex-con suspected of a random machete attack on a pit bull — has been nabbed outside a diner in Pennsylvania, state police said yesterday.
Thomas G. Vargus, 45, had been on the state’s most wanted list since Sept. 18, when he walked up to a pit bull in Taunton and began stabbing it with a machete, according to police. The woman walking the dog was also injured.
While on the run, Vargus is believed to have hidden out with a 70-year-old member of the Pagan Outlaws motorcycle club, who State Police Spokesman David Procopio said previously did federal prison time with Vargus. Vargus was captured Sunday in Marcus Hook, Pa., 23 miles south of Philadelphia.
“A Marcus Hook patrol officer observed the local man and Vargus walk into a local diner for dinner. Additional officers responded as back up, and after the two men left the diner. The officers took Vargus into custody without incident at the intersection of Marshal Lane and Green Street,” Procopio said in a statement.
The biker, identified by Procopio as Glen J. Turner, is currently on federal parole. Procopio said Turner was incarcerated for shooting a New Jersey state trooper in the face in 1982, leaving him partially blind. Turner met Vargus while Vargus was locked up on federal drug charges. U.S. Bureau of Prison records show Vargus was released in 2010 and Turner in 2016.
Marcus Hook police charged Vargus as a fugitive from justice. Procopio said Massachusetts authorities will arrange for his rendition to Bristol County, where he faces charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and animal cruelty.
Police said Vargus’ lengthy criminal history includes convictions for assault with a beer bottle, beer can and mace.
The dog he is accused of attacking survived the machete wounds, thanks in part to good Samaritans who intervened and locked the dog in a car, Procopio said.