CHICAGO, IL –The Parkersburg Police Department located a man wanted for a murder last month on Wednesday morning in Chicago.
James Robert Brandjes, 30, was located at a Walmart around 11:30 a.m. He allegedly beat 48-year-old Mark Weaver to death in July. Parkersburg Police Chief Joe Martin said locating Brandjes was a team effort.
“He hadn’t been in Chicago for very long,” Martin said. “We were able to link up with the Chicago PD and their fugitive guys. They located him at the Walmart this morning.”
Since the evening of the alleged homicide, officers had been looking for Martin, who also fled to Pennsylvania. A reward was put out to catch Brandjes earlier this month.
Martin was thankful for the work put in by marshalls from the Southern District of West Virginia, Western District of Pennsylvania and the Chicago Police Department Fugitive Apprehension Unit. He said Brandjes should be back in the Mountain State soon.
“Tomorrow morning he has an extradition hearing. From there, if he waives extradition, we have 10 days to go get him and take custody of him and bring him back to West Virginia,” Martin explained. “So we soon hope to have him back in Wood County.”
Brandjes was considered a danger to the public; he faces one charge of murder, allegedly telling Weaver he would kill him as he hit him in the face repeatedly.