Fugitive arrested after fleeing Hamilton County trial over aggravated statutory rape

HC Sheriff

A U.S. Marshals Service task force in Nashville has arrested a fugitive convicted of aggravated statutory rape, after he fled during his trial in Hamilton County. 

James Harold Tolliver, 67, was on trial for the 2023 rape of a runaway teen in Chattanooga when he disappeared on April 9, the third day of trial.

According to the United States Marshals Service, despite his absence, the jury found Tolliver guilty of assault and aggravated statutory rape.

They say after acting on a collateral lead from the U.S. Marshals Service in Chattanooga, the Middle Tennessee Fugitive Task Force located Tolliver on Alameda Street in Nashville.

He was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Davidson County Jail, where he will remain pending transport to Hamilton County.