A Franklin County man charged in a fatal car crash was arrested Thursday after being on the run almost five days.Missouri Highway Patrol troopers took Joshua McFerrin, 36, St. Clair, into custody after stopping a car on Highway 68 in Phelps County about 4:44 p.m.Sgt. Dan Crane, public information officer for Troop I, said investigators received a tip that McFerrin possibly was a passenger in the vehicle and intercepted it just south of the St. James city limits.Sgt. Al Nothum, Troop C public information officer, said the car was stopped because it had license plates registered to another vehicle. Nothum said McFerrin was taken into custody without incident.Sgt. Crane said Friday that the driver of the car, John M. Hawkins, 30, St. Clair, was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. He was taken to the Phelps County Jail where he was held for 12 hours, then released pending a decision on possible charges.Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke said he expected McFerrin would be transferred either Friday or Saturday from Phelps County to the Franklin County Jail where he will be held on a $500,000 cash-only bond.At this point, McFerrin is charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal crash Saturday evening, June 29, at Highway 100 and Route M near Villa Ridge. More charges are expected to be filed, however.McFerrin had been on the run since he walked away from the Mercy Hospital Washington emergency room where he was taken by ambulance following the crash that occurred shortly before 7 p.m.McFerrin walked out of the hospital before highway patrol troopers could arrest him on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.For the last several days, law enforcement officers have been following up on tips thatMcFerrin had been spotted at several locations, including in the Berger area, St. Clair and Cuba in Crawford County.Warren County officers also were looking for McFerrin in and around Marthasville where he grew up.The man wanted in connection with a fatal accident Saturday in Franklin County has ties to Warren County.Law enforcement officials said Joshua McFerrin, 36, the subject of a multi-jurisdictional manhunt, grew up in Marthasville and has convictions in a number of prior crimes in Warren County, including statutory rape.“He has lots of history over here on a variety of charges,” Warren County Sheriff Kevin Harrison said Wednesday. “According to our records, he has been in our jail 19 times since 1995.”Harrison said the previous charges against McFerrin include traffic, fraud, tampering, probation violations, assault and statutory rape.Warren County sheriff’s deputies are assisting other agencies in the search for McFerrin who also had lived in Treloar. McFerrin, St. Clair, is charged with one count of manslaughter in a Franklin County warrant in connection with a fatal crash Saturday evening, June 29, at Highway 100 and Route M.Two passengers in McFerrin’s car died at the scene and a third was seriously injured. McFerrin fled from the emergency room at Mercy Hospital Washington where he was taken for treatment following the crash shortly before 7 p.m. He walked out of the hospital before highway patrol troopers could arrest him on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and has managed to elude capture since then.He still was at-large as of Wednesday morning. Warren County’s canine unit assisted in the initial search for McFerrin after he fled the hospital, Harrison said.“We are on the lookout for him and we welcome the public’s assistance in finding him. We will do anything we can to help find this guy,” Harrison added.Trooper Juston Wheetley of the Missouri Highway Patrol said investigators continue to follow up on leads as they come in.On Sunday, members of the Franklin County SWAT team assisted highway patrol troopers in serving a search warrant at a home on Diederich Road in the Berger area after receiving a tip that McFerrin was there. However, he was not at the residence when officers searched the property.Lengthy RecordMcFerrin has a lengthy criminal history that includes past convictions for statutory rape, second-degree assault, auto theft, resisting arrest and drug trafficking. He was sentenced to concurrent sentences totaling 10 years after pleading guilty to charges of assaulting law enforcement officers and resisting arrest by fleeing causing a risk of death or injury, according to court documents.In February 2011, McFerrin pleaded guilty to assaulting a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest and was ordered to serve three years in the Missouri Department of Corrections, according to online court records.Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke said McFerrin had been in the county jail on traffic charges but was released a few days prior to the fatal crash. The passengers in the car driven by McFerrin who died in the crash were identified as Mitchell Mantels, 56, Villa Ridge, and Tarlton Stephens, 46, St. Clair.Another passenger, Shanna Wilken, 30, St. Clair, was seriously injured. She was transported by air ambulance to Mercy Hospital St. Louis. The patrol reported that McFerrin was driving a 2000 Dodge Stratus westbound on Highway 100 and made a left turn at Route M, pulling into the path of an eastbound 2007 Ford Fusion driven by Jo E. Knipe, 60, Robertsville.Knipe and a passenger, Kenneth Knipe, 61, Robertsville, were injured and were taken by ambulance to Mercy Hospital Washington for treatment.The patrol report indicates that McFerrin failed to yield for the traffic signal at the intersection. He was taken to the hospital for treatment of moderate injuries, the patrol reported.After fleeing from the emergency room, McFerrin was seen running into a wooded area near the hospital. Officers then mounted a search of the area, including the Rotary Riverfront Trail.

Joshua McFerrin