Saturday Night Party A Bust For Most Wanted Fugitive

When Eric Harder left his Michigan home Saturday night for an evening of music and partying at a local pub, the last thing on his mind was a meet and greet with members of the US Marshal’s Service. However, shortly after his arrival at Newman’s Pub and Grub in Lexington, MI, months of investigative work came to an end, and Harder, one of Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted, was re-routed from the neighborhood bar, to the
bars of a jail cell.
Harder, DOB 2/16/83, had been on the run in Lee County since November 2006 – for violating his probation on charges of child abuse. His troubles began back in 2004 when he was left to care for two young children, who were ages 2 and 3 at the time. When the mothers returned home, they found their children severely beaten – both with bruising on their backs and buttocks. The youngest child, a female, additionally suffered a brutal laceration that was inflicted with either an extension cord, wire or clothes hanger. When Harder was approached by the mothers, he took off, but was eventually arrested for two counts of aggravated child abuse. He was later released from jail and put on probation, but consequently violated those terms, which landed him back in jail for nearly a year.
Upon his release a second time, Harder was again placed on probation, however history repeated itself and Harder became a fugitive from justice.
In February 2010, Harder was arrested in St. Clair County, MI, for the possession of marijuana, then again in August 2010 for driving with a suspended license. He spent 30 days in jail for that crime, and was supposed to show back up in court following his release. It was at that time that his Florida child abuse warrant was supposed to be served upon him. However, when his court date came up, Harder was a no-show, and thus became a wanted fugitive in two states.
After years of dodging the law, Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers placed Harder on its 10 Most Wanted list on March 1, 2011. Members of the US Marshal’s Florida Regional Task Force, consisting of members of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the US Marshal’s Service, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Cape Coral Police Department and the Fort Myers Police Department, took on Harder’s case and began reaching out to their partners in the Detroit, Michigan area – where Harder was believed to be living. The multi-agency investigation turned up information that Harder was going to be attending a concert at a bar in Lexington, Michigan, late Saturday night, April 2. Officers from several law enforcement agencies conducted surveillance on the bar, and shortly before 11 p.m., Harder was taken into custody, where he is currently being held without bond. He was booked into the St. Clair County Jail early yesterday morning.
Assisting in Saturday night’s arrest were members of the US Marshal’s Service from Detroit, Flint and Port Huron, MI, as well as the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office and the Sanilac County Sheriff’s Office. Here on the homefront, members of the US Marshal’s Florida Regional Task Force monitored the situation, and kept in constant contact with their counterparts in Michigan until Harder’s four-and-a-half years of running came to an abrupt end, culminating with his long-anticipated arrest.
“It was bad enough that Harder beat two young, defenseless babies,” said Trish Routte, Crime Stoppers Coordinator. “But then to run from his crimes and think he’d gotten away with it made a bad situation even worse. We can only hope that extended time in jail will give Harder some time to think about what he’s done – and will send the message out that you can run, and you can hide – but eventually, you’ll get caught.”