NEWS

Felon accused of terrorizing seniors

Douglas Walker
dwalker@muncie.gannett.com
  • A felon is accused of terrorizing his elderly relatives in their Yorktown home late Wednesday.
  • Authorities said Kevin Fries threatened to kill his father and stepmother with a knife.
  • Fries is also accused of stealing an assault rifle, cash, cellphones and his father’s pickup truck.
  • Fries spent several years in prison for the months-long abuse and torture of his wife in 2000.

YORKTOWN – A felon with a bizarre criminal history is accused of terrorizing his elderly relatives in their Yorktown home late Wednesday.

He was later arrested, in his alleged victim’s pickup truck, after leading police on a chase up Interstate 69.

Kevin L.D. Fries, 43, of Tipton, was being held in the Delaware County jail on Thursday, preliminarily charged with burglary, criminal confinement, auto theft, theft, felon in possession of a firearm, threats with a deadly weapon and resisting law enforcement. His bond was set at $115,000.

Yorktown Police Chief Todd St. John said Fries entered the home of his father and stepmother, in the 6300 block of West Penrod Road, about 11:35 p.m., pulled a foot-long knife and announced, “I came here to kill you.”

Fries forced his stepmother to tie up his father with neckties, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Both alleged victims are in their 70s.

St. John said Fries eventually untied his father, but left the house, in his father’s truck, after stealing an assault rifle and ammunition, cash and cellphones. He also warned the senior citizens he would return and kill them if they called police.

(A grandson of Fries’ stepmother happens to be a Yorktown police officer, the police chief noted.)

A short time later, police, tracking an OnStar unit, were able to determine the stolen truck was on Interstate 69, traveling north from the Daleville area. A chase up the interstate — eventually involving about 20 police cars, St. John said — ensued, with Fries eventually pulling over and surrendering without incident, about 12:50 a.m., at the Ind. 26 interchange in southeastern Grant County.

Fries is also accused of parole violations.

Fries — then known as Kevin Scott Fraze — was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison in 2002 after he was convicted of kidnapping.

The conviction stemmed from a three-month series of incidents in 2000 that saw him beat, stab, torture and sexually assault his newlywed wife as they traveled in Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia and Florida. He also allowed other men to rape his victim and forced her to work as a prostitute, investigators said.

Fraze was apparently released from federal prison in 2013, when his parole was transferred from Florida to Indiana.

Also that year, the felon — then listed at an Elwood address — filed a petition in Madison Circuit Court to have his name changed from Kevin Scott Fraze to Kevin Lauren Dewayne Fries.

Contact news reporter Douglas Walker at (765) 213-5851. You can also follow him on Twitter @DouglasWalkerSP.