(Photo by US MARSHAL SERVICE) John Patrick Barber, 30, fugitive of the week arrested by US Marshals task force

CONCORD — When members of a New Hampshire Joint Fugitive Task Force spotted a vehicle Monday morning in which 30-year-old Fugitive of the Week John Patrick Barber was a passenger, they moved in to pull over the vehicle on a street in the eastern part of Manchester.

But as soon as the officers, who were conducting surveillance knowing that Barber was often seen in the area, recognized the vehicle, the driver allegedly took off in an alleged attempt to elude the surveillance team, according to Jeffrey White, supervisory deputy U.S. Marshal for the district of New Hampshire.

Behind the wheel was Keelee Estes, 27, last known address in Manchester, who “fled at a high speed down I-93 south” with the officers in pursuit, White said.

The vehicle got off I-93 at the Derry/Londonderry exit, where Estes allegedly “continued to attempt to elude the surveillance teams.”

Eventually, White said, the officers were able to corner the vehicle at the end of a dead-end street in Londonderry.

Barber and Estes were taken into custody without further incident, White said. The vehicle was towed from the scene.

Estes faces one count of reckless operation of a motor vehicle, while Barber was transported to Manchester police headquarters for processing on the outstanding arrest warrant, which was issued after Barber allegedly failed to maintain his sex-offender registration, White added.

The suspects’ bail status wasn’t immediately known.

Barber is required to register as a sex offender as a result of his 2013 conviction in Rockingham County Superior Court on charges accusing him of felonious sexual assault on a child between 13-16 years of age.

Barber’s arrest comes within two weeks after the U.S. Marshal’s Task Force named him its Fugitive of the Week.

Involved in Monday’s efforts that led to Barber’s arrest were members of the Londonderry and Manchester police departments, the state police, deputy U.S. Marshals, and the Strafford County Sheriff’s office, White said.

The U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive of the Week initiative, created in 2007, “continues to be a very successful tool that has resulted in the location and arrest of numerous fugitives,” White said.

For more information about the U.S. Marshals Service and its affiliated task forces, go to www.usmarshals.gov.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.