A man being sought in the slayings of two brothers whose bound bodies were found in a Philadelphia river and in the wounding of a third man who swam to shore has been captured in Virginia.
Tam Minh Le was taken into custody Tuesday at a motel in Ashland, Virginia, and was awaiting extradition proceedings, Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Jim Burke said. He had been placed on the marshals' 15 most wanted fugitive list in December.
Authorities allege Le and other members of a Vietnamese gang held brothers Viet Huynh and Vu Huynh hostage in his southwest Philadelphia home in August for gambling away $100,000 that was supposed to be used to buy drugs. Another man went to the home with partial payment of $40,000, but "Le was not satisfied and allegedly decided all three men would pay with their lives," the U.S. Marshals Service said in December.
Authorities said the three men were taken Aug. 27 to an area near the Schuylkill River, where they were beaten, stabbed and tossed in the water, the brothers' bound bodies weighted down by makeshift anchors. The third man, who was not anchored, stayed afloat until his abductors drove away, and then he swam to shore.
Police were alerted after the man was found wandering down Kelly Drive in his underwear, his hands and feet still bound, soaked and screaming.
Pennsylvania officials issued a warrant for Le's arrest in September, charging him with two counts of murder and related crimes, said federal authorities, who charged him with flight to avoid felony prosecution in October.
Authorities said Le was spotted Tuesday entering a motel room and deputies knocked and ordered him to surrender. Le's wife and three children were found in the room and were removed. Le, who was found locked in the bathroom "attempting to escape through the ceiling," was arrested after a brief standoff, the marshals service said.
Le remained in custody at the Paumuney Regional Jail on Wednesday and couldn't be reached for comment by telephone. It was unclear whether he had an attorney.
A wanted poster issued by the marshals said Le served more than a dozen years in prison after being convicted of murder in New York in 1994.
