A suspect wanted by the Elizabethton Police Department on a murder charge in connection with death of a young child has been captured by federal authorities in Ohio.
Elizabethton Police and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation officers were searching for 28-year-old Demetrius Deshawn Covington (also known as Demetrius Somerville) on a charge of first degree murder following the death of his 3-year-old stepson.
Late Wednesday night, the EPD announced Covington had been captured in Dayton, Ohio.
“We have just received notification that Covington has been apprehended,” EPD Capt. Joy Shoun said in a statement released shortly before midnight on Wednesday. “He was located in the Dayton, Ohio area and is in police custody where he will await an extradition hearing.  There are no further details available at this time regarding his arrest.”
A short time later, the TBI also released a statement on the capture of Covington.
“Demetrius Covington, 28, was located late Wednesday at an apartment complex on Central Avenue in Dayton,” the TBI statement said. “He was arrested by members of the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force and officers with the Dayton Police Department.”
“Covington will be held in the Montgomery County Jail in Dayton, Ohio, awaiting extradition to Tennessee,” the statement added.
On Monday, investigators with the Elizabethton Police Department requested the public’s assistance in locating Covington, who was then wanted on a charge of aggravated child neglect. On Tuesday afternoon, the EPD in conjunction with the TBI, upgraded the charge against Covington to first degree murder after the child died in a local hospital.
Due to the pending charges, the TBI released a statement Tuesday saying Covington had been added to the agency’s Top 10 Most Wanted List.
According to the TBI, Covington is a known member of the Bloods street and was considered “armed and dangerous.”
The charge against Covington stems from an investigation by the Elizabethton Police Department that began on Friday, Nov. 18, into a suspicious injury/medical condition of a 3-year-old male child.
Officers received a 911 call informing them that the child’s mother had the child in a vehicle and was stopped on Broad Street performing CPR on the child. Officers and EMS arrived and transported the child to a local hospital.
The investigation revealed that the child’s stepfather, identified as Covington, had phoned the child’s mother at her place of employment stating that the child was injured and requested she come home.
“The mother arrived at their residence and reported that the child was having difficulty breathing so she decided to take him to the emergency room,” Shoun said on Monday. “While enroute, the child’s condition worsened, at which time she phoned 911 for help, resulting in her stopping and beginning CPR. The child is currently in critical condition and was found to have numerous injuries.”
“Mr. Covington (Somerville) left the residence after the mother departed for the hospital with the child and has not been heard from since,” Shoun added.