DUNKIRK - Producer James Gagliano from the television show "America's Most Wanted" was in Dunkirk Tuesday filming a segment of the popular crime show dealing with Jeannie Storey's identification of Joseph Chapman, who had escaped from McKean County Jail in Pennsylvania on July 30, 2007.
After watching an episode featuring Chapman, Storey checked the show's website and called the state police barracks in Fredonia on May 20. She thought the man she knew as Joshua Tompkins was Chapman. A positive identification was made that night.
According to Gagliano the crew began filming Tuesday at about 7 a.m. and expected to wrap up Tuesday night. They worked with the arresting officer, Trooper Dennis Gould, at the Fredonia barracks, filmed the area where the arrest occurred in Arkwright, and shot segments at Storey's home in Stockton. In the afternoon, they were at the Best Western in Dunkirk where Storey was getting ready for an interview with Gagliano.
Article Photos
Producer James Gagliano of “America’s Most Wanted” speaks to Jeanne Storey before resuming filming at the Best Western on Vineyard Drive in Dunkirk on Tuesday.
Photo by Diane R. Chodan
Gagliano as well as a cameraman and a sound technician were in the area to film a segment of the show dealing with Storey’s identification of Joseph Chapman after watching the show.
Gagliano called Storey a hero and said that the segment will most likely be aired on the Lifetime Network on June 8 at 9 p.m.
Trooper Gould, reached by phone, confirmed that he was the arresting officer, and that he participated in the filming that took place. A 14-year veteran of the troopers, he took the call from Storey when he came into work on May 20 at 7 p.m. His shift lasts 12 hours, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. That night, he and Trooper Malcom J. Cully went up to Center Road in Arkwright in separate cars to investigate
Gould explained that in a fugitive situation a trooper would not go alone. He said, "Anytime there is a fugitive situation, you don't know what you are going to encounter."
Gould also wanted to mention that Trooper Calvin Saletta assisted that night. Saletta made contact with the FBI and arranged to fax Chapman's fingerprints to them so a positive identification could be made. Saletta also made contact with the U.S. Marshal's office because it was a district court warrant (federal) for Chapman.
Gould said, "I'm not out to promote any show, but who knows whether we would have found Chapman without it. It is a good feeling to know that he is back in jail where he belongs."