Missouri City Police Department detectives believe Craig Joel Bolah killed an acquaintance in his apartment on Thursday, then dragged the body outside and set it on fire.
The murder victim has now been identified as John Fernandes, 23, of the 15200 block of Inks Lake in Sugar Land.
Detectives obtained a warrant for Bolah’s arrest, and have traced him to Tallahassee, Fla. A police spokesman said they believe Bolah, 20, is trying to catch a plane to Grenada, where he is a citizen.
But Bolah’s passport has been “flagged,” Police Capt. John Bailey said early Friday morning, and investigators believe authorities in the tiny island nation will refuse him entry.
Bailey said FBI officials advised the department that authorities will force Bolah to fly back to Florida, or wherever his flight from the United States originated, where police will be waiting for him.
The warrant for Bolah’s arrest charges him with aggravated assault, but an accompanying affidavit states that charges will be upgraded later and bond is expected to be set at $250,000, Bailey said.
Police were called to Quail valley Apartments at 1800 Murphy Road just before 6 a.m. Thursday, where they found a body on fire in between two air conditioning units on the south side of the complex.
Officers doused the flames with a garden hose, and then noticed a bloody trail on a nearby sidewalk, which they followed to Apt. 813, where Bolah lived.
A strong odor of gasoline was apparent coming from inside the apartment, Bailey said, and with the complex manager’s help, police entered.
No one was in the apartment. Police found blood throughout the apartment, and gasoline had been poured throughout the apartment as well. A stove had been left on, apparently with the intent that it would ignite the gasoline, Bailey said. But the stove was electric, and nothing caught on fire.
Meanwhile, detectives found out who the murder victim was.
“We were able to identify the deceased, and that’s what broke this case wide open,” Bailey said.
Through tips from a woman who came forward, police determined Bolah had Fernandes’ credit card.
They learned he had used it close to the time of the murder, at a gas station at Murphy and Cartwright roads. An employee there told detectives someone had filled up a car’s gas tank, and also a separate container, Bailey said.
Detectives followed Bolah’s movements on Thursday through credit card transactions. He stopped for gas in Louisiana, then Alabama. Security video footage allowed detectives to positively identify the Missouri City man, and also showed he was driving Fernandes’ car.
Another break in the case came Thursday when a woman providing information to detectives received a call on her cell phone. It was Bolah.
He was in a suburb of Tallahassee, and told her he was going to fly to Grenada, Bailey said.
Missouri City police contacted the Tallahassee Police Department, and officers in that city set up surveillance along a highway where they believed Bolah would be traveling.
But they didn’t see the suspect, Bailey said.
So while detectives believe he’s in the Tallahassee area and planning to catch a plane to Grenada, they are unsure of his exact location.
“Now we’ve just got to catch him,” Bailey said. “His picture’s out there and he’s in the computer. It’s just a matter of time.” .