Fugitive on the run captured in Kansas

A Beckley man charged in a recent sexual assault in Raleigh County has been arrested in Kansas.

Authorities arrested convicted sex offender John Lee Smith, 48, Wednesday in Allen County, Kansas on a fugitive from justice warrant.

Smith has a 1984 conviction in Chariton, MO for rape of an 8 year old girl. Because the victim was a minor, he is required to register as a sex offender for life.

Smith was recently arrested in Raleigh County on a sexual assault charge by the Beckley City Police Department. He was released from Southern Regional Jail on March 1 and failed to report to authorities within three days of his release.

Registered sex offenders are required by law to register within 3 business days of release from any incarceration, guilty finding or plea.

That’s when arrest warrants were obtained by officers and the search for Smith began.

He is currently being housed in Kansas pending extradition back to West Virginia.