Teen Charged in Homicide No Stranger to Cops

The 16-year-old boy charged with stabbing his foster father to death in Blackwood on Monday was no stranger to township police.

The teen, who was arrested Tuesday night in Bronx, NY, by federal marshals in connection with the homicide, had been on the police department's radar since at least May.

While he was never apprehended and formally charged in connection with the crime, police did sign complaints against the 16-year-old boy for a carjacking incident at Lakeview Apartments on May 29, Gloucester Township Police Chief W. Harry Earle said.

Earle was relieved when he learned members of the U.S. Marshals Service New York/New Jersey Regional Task Force arrested the teen as he exited a Bronx deli Tuesday night.

"We're very pleased we got it resolved," the chief said Wednesday afternoon, "for both the community's sake and certainly for the family. It has to provide some sense of closure, although I'm sure the family will be grieving for some time."

Theotis Butts, 69, was found stabbed to death inside his Hemlock Drive home at around 9:40 p.m. Monday night, according to police. His brother-in-law made the grisly discovery after Butts' wife, Wanda, grew concerned he had not shown up to pick her up from work.

The teen now charged with stabbing Butts to death before fleeing with items he stole from the home last lived on Hemlock Drive about nine months ago, Earle said. The Buttses also took in another foster child over the past four years.

Police were able to track the 16-year-old boy to the Bronx home of a family member, according to Earle, after speaking to relatives in New Jersey following Butts' slaying.

Police recovered a weapon at the homicide scene, Earle said Wednesday, but the chief would not comment on whether it is believed to be the murder weapon.

Speculation is rampant the Camden County Prosecutor's Office is moving to try the teen for murder as an adult. That process could drag on for months.

The 16-year-old, who reportedly attended Triton Regional High School while he lived with the Buttses, must first be extradited from New York to Camden County.

Authorities are not identifying the teen due to his juvenile status.