NYPD: Suspect in killings of Queens couple taken into custody

An ex-convict who had been the subject of a citywide two-day search for allegedly killing an elderly Queens couple and then setting their home on fire was arrested late Wednesday afternoon, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.

Charges against Jamel McGriff, 42, were pending after police took him into custody without incident at 5:41 p.m. in the vicinity of Times Square at 44th Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, according to an NYPD spokesperson. McGriff was being transported to the 107th Precinct in Queens late Wednesday for processing.

"Thank you to the best detectives and the best cops in the world for their work tracking and apprehending this violent criminal," Tisch said in announcing the man's arrest.

McGriff became the target of the search by the regional fugitive task — a combination of NYPD detectives and federal agents — after police said he was identified as the man who on Monday entered the home of Frank Olton, 76, and his wife Maureen Olton, 77, in Bellerose, Queens, and killed them before setting the residence on fire.

Surveillance videos broadcast Tuesday showed a man believed to be McGriff approaching Frank Olton by the entry way to the home before both went inside.

Police said video surveillance showed a person they identified as McGriff exiting the home a couple of hours later and not long after the FDNY responded to put out the fire. Firefighters extinguished the blaze and Investigators found Olton dead in the basement, bound to a pole with bungee cords, said a law enforcement source, who didn’t want to be identified.

Maureen Olton was reportedly found dead in a wheelchair. The city medical examiner was investigating to determine how the couple died and whether they were dead before the fire started, officials said.

The search for McGriff, who had a lengthy arrest history, including a stint in prison for a 2006 robbery in Manhattan, initially focused to some extent on the Bronx because police said two cellphones taken from the victims’ home were items he allegedly pawned there. Investigators also searched homeless shelters and parks, according to the law enforcement official.

The trail led to M anhattan on Wednesday after the victims' stolen credit cards were used in an attempt to make purchases in the borough, the law enforcement source  told Newsday. Detectives in the midtown area spotted him and made the arrest, the official said.

Police said McGriff had almost 20 prior arrests for various crimes, mostly robbery and burglary.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.comtonynewsday

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.