Tom Kruwis
U.S. Marshals and the FBI arrested 34 year old Harvey in his hometown of Niagara Falls.
“That is one of the places we believed that he had attempted to run due to family members being in that area,” said Chief Rodney Monroe, of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
Court documents indicate Harvey's grandmother, who adopted him, lives in Niagara Falls. She told court officials in 2008 that she never saw him exhibit any type of violent behavior.
In 1996, Harvey was convicted of sex abuse in Niagara Falls. He was required to register as a sex offender but after moving to Charlotte, he was arrested several times for failing to register his address. He is listed at least eight different addresses in the past few years.
Harvey was last arrested March 15 for possession with intent to sell heroin and possession of a firearm by a felon. Sources say he was selling brown sugar and trying to pass it off as black tar heroin. Lab tests confirmed that and a grand jury indicted him for selling counterfeit drugs.
From that March arrest, CMPD Officer C.A. Fahrenholz obtained a warrant to arrest Harvey for being an habitual felon. The warrant was issued August 9, but officers couldn't find him and that warrant remains unserved. Court documents also reveal Harvey has abused drugs since he was 12 years old.
Now, CMPD detectives are headed to New York to question Harvey about Valerie Hamilton's death.
“We will not know the exact of cause and manner of death until that autopsy is completed,” said Chief Monroe. “That will determine additional charges or modification of charges.”
As more evidence is collected and information is gathered, Chief Monroe said this investigation is far from over.
The disappearance and discovery of Hamilton comes as Concord has been grieving the death of another young life lost. Last week, Concord residents and officials took to the streets to honor PFC James McClamrock, who was killed in Iraq Sept. 7, and his family.
Concord officials released a statement Sunday morning, offering support to Chief Hamilton and his family.
"The entire community joins me and the City Council in offering condolences to Chief Hamilton, his wife Susanne, and their daughter Sarah," said Mayor Scott Padgett, in a statement. "We are devastated over this tragic event and want to do everything possible to support this family that has been so important to Concord."
When asked about the case further, Padgett said he thought that Harvey would be captured quickly.
"They know that this guy’s got a record," Padgett said. "I don’t think it will take them long to catch him."
Concord Police Major Wendell Rummage said officers are compiling a list of people that have called and sent condolences to the Hamiltons.
"We've had people call from as far away as Los Angeles," Rummage said. "Merl is pretty well-known across the country."
Chief Hamilton became Concord's police chief in June 2001, after beginning his law enforcement career in Hickory. He served as deputy chief of the Hickory Police Department prior to coming to Concord.
Valerie Hamilton was on the swim team at Concord High School, when she moved to Concord. She used that knowledge to teach children how to swim at Little Otter Swim School in southeast Charlotte.
John Kirk, owner of the school, said Valerie was always smiling, always happy, when she was around her students.
"A lot of kids know how to swim because of her," he said. "She was a beautiful person."
He said the school is open, but the staff have "heavy hearts." The staff have written a letter to give to parents of their students, Kirk said, and let the parents explain Valerie's death to their children in their own way.
On the school's Facebook page, parents left many comments expressing sorrow over Valerie's death and support for the Hamilton family.
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