PORTLAND — Authorities arrested a man suspected in a 2002 murder in North Carolina this morning.
Robert Bell Jr., 38, was arrested without incident by members of the Maine Violent Offender Task Force. the U.S. Marshals Service and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Cold Case Unit.
Bell is suspected in the killing of Jamie Dunbar in Charlotte, N.C.
Physical evidence processed by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg crime lab revealed a DNA sample from an unknown male, which was entered into the National DNA Database. Detectives learned late last year that Bell’s DNA matched the unknown sample. Detectives eventually located Bell in Portland.
Bell is believed to have lived in Portland for several months, according to Sean Willitts, supervisory deputy for the Marshals Service in Maine. Willitts said Bell was arrested at his home on State Street.
Bell is being held at the Cumberland County jail as a fugitive from justice.
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