Suspected “sovereign citizen” subject of nationwide manhunt - Salon.com

The sovereign citizen link is weak but as the article states, "Lewis was convicted of displaying altered or inappropriate license plates on his vehicle in 2007 – a petty crime that can be the hallmark of a “sovereign citizen” who believes driving is a constitutional right, not a privilege, and that the government has no control over individuals. A law enforcement source told Hatewatch that Lewis “mostly likely” shares the views of sovereign citizens, even if investigators haven’t yet confirmed that he’s part of that movement."
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A man described as an antigovernment survivalist is now the subject of a nationwide manhunt after a woman’s body was found in or near an underground bunker he built at his Oregon home in anticipation of a government collapse.

Gary Alan Lewis, 61, who has served prison time for drug and burglary crimes, is now wanted for murder in the death of Renee Suzanne Sandidge-Crowell, authorities say. The 59-year-old woman rented living space in the basement of Lewis’ home — described as a fortress with the bunker, barred windows and security cameras — in northeast Portland.

There have been ongoing landlord-tenant disputes between Lewis and Sandidge-Crowell and, at one point, she accused him of poisoning her dog, according to various media reports.

Remains believed to be those of the missing woman were recovered late Tuesday after a four-day search by detectives, joined by police forensic and bomb squad technicians, the Oregonian reports in today’s editions. A police spokesman said the woman’s remains were not found in the residence or in a trailer, but wouldn’t confirm reports that they were discovered in the underground bunker.

Lewis, now considered a fugitive, hasn’t been seen since before Saturday, when police went to his home after getting a suspicious activity report.

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Chris Mitchell, a neighbor who described himself as a friend of the fugitive, told the newspaper that Lewis “believed the U.S. government was headed for a collapse and had prepared for a chaotic future by stockpiling water and ready to eat meals in the bunker he built in his backyard.”

Other neighbors described Lewis as a survivalist and one showed a picture of the underground bunker he constructed in his backyard — in the same area the forensics technicians searched for the woman’s remains, KOIN-TV in Portland reported.

Suspected “sovereign citizen” subject of nationwide manhunt - Salon.com


UPDATE::  Lewis has been captured!!

A landlord wanted in connection with the murder of his tenant was arrested Thursday evening, according to Portland police.

Detectives suspected Gary Alan Lewis, 61, of murder after the remains of his tenant, Renee Suzanne Sandidge-Crowell, 59, were found in Northeast Portland on Tuesday, police said. Landlord suspected of murder arrested in NE Portland