PETTIFORD, KENNETH L.

Fugitive Profile as of November 23rd, 2014 (Based on 2010 AMW archive):

Aliases: Steven Smith
Sex: Male
Race: Black
Current Age: 54
Height: 6'1 - 6'2
Weight: 211 lbs.
Hair (Color, Description, Facial Hair):
-Black
-Pettiford typically shaves his head bald.
-He often wears a goatee.
Eyes: Brown
Traits and Habits:
-Pettiford claims to be a private contractor for the U.S. Army.
-He could be using Yahoo! Chat ID's klpcook or mwants1nitestand while lurking in chatrooms, seeking out vulnerable prey.
-He likes to drink beer.
-He's known to use the following websites to meet women: Yahoo.com , Tagged.com , swappernet.com and swingerszone.com
Possible Locations:
-Africa
-Kokomo , IN
-International
-Pettiford claims to be a U.S. Army contractor, and could be hiding out in Africa.
Who to call if you've seen him: Kokomo Police Hotline at 765-456-7017, or you may qualify for a cash reward by callingCentral Indiana Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS with your anonymous tip. You can also submit a webtip at the following link: www.tipsubmit.com/webtips.aspx?AgencyID=655&DSID=655

Accused Online Predator Gets The Shock Of His Life

Lt. Don Whitehead leads the Computer Forensics Section of the Kokomo Police Department inIndiana. Throughout his shift, he trolls online chat rooms with the intent of finding childpredators looking to pick up underage boys and girls.

Though he doesn't spend all of his time at the computer, instant messages from potentialpredators pop onto Lt. Whitehead’s screen with an unsettling frequency whenever he signs intohis account.

Lt. Whitehead doesn't initiate a single conversation. Instead, he idles in chat rooms, usingan alias, pretending he's an innocent teenage girl. The results of his undercover work areprofoundly disturbing.

For instance, on March 30, 2009, Lt. Whitehead was contacted by user klpcook in a Yahoo!chat room -- and he knew immediately that he was about to net yet another cyber-predator.

Less than an hour into their first conversation, Lt. Whitehead had already set up a sexualencounter with klpcook. Whitehead's femme fatale alter ego agreed to meet klpcook at a localgrocery store. When the details of the rendezvous were set in stone, klpcook signed off.

Moments later, another user, going by the name mwants1nitestand, contacted Lt. Whitehead.Mwants1nitestand tried to pick up Whitehead's teenybopper alias as well but soon began to feelthat he was speaking to a cop.

Lt. Whitehead did his best to convince mwants1nitestand that he was not a police officer,but the skeptic wouldn't buy his story. He abruptly signed off after a 20-minute chat. He'd endedtheir conversation by writing, semi-jokingly, ok bye cop.

While klpcook never showed up to meet the “girl” that afternoon, he set upanother meeting for 12 p.m. on April 1, 2009. When Lt. Whitehead asked if klpcook was definitelygoing to show up this time, he said that he would, because im horny.

At 11 a.m., cops arrived in unmarked vehicles to the grocery store where klpcook was set tomeet his teenage victim. Lo and behold, at 11:35 a.m., a man matching klpcooks description showedup and entered the grocery store.

Moments later, he walked out with a soda and a case of water in his hands -- but made noattempt to contact the decoy “teen” the Kokomo police planted outside the store. Thedecoy was, in fact, an of-age Kokomo city employee who agreed to help out on the mission.

Moments later, when klpcook sped off from the parking lot, Kokomo police pulled over hiscar and Lt. Whitehead met him face-to-face for the first time.

Ind. Cops: Predator Weaves Intricate Lies

At the traffic stop, the man identified himself as Kenneth Pettiford, of Muncie, Ind. Whencops asked him if he intended to meet the young girl who he assumed he'd been speaking with online,Pettiford told them he did not -- and he knew that the whole ordeal was a set-up. Pettiford toldcops he was just going along with it for fun.

Pettiford then told detectives that he was en route to meet an adult woman in Kokomo but atthe last moment, she said she was unable to meet up with him.

After he picked up some groceries at the supermarket -- a number of miles out of his way --Pettiford told cops he was going to change course and visit a relative in nearby Marion.

But then curiosity got the best of him. The only reason Pettiford told cops he showed up atthe grocery store to begin with was because he wanted to see if the young girl was actually goingto be there.

According to reports, Pettiford then told them that over time, he'd used his charm to meethordes of ladies he'd met online. He claimed to have set up anywhere between 20 and 50 sexualencounters -- all of them with adult women.

After their chat, cops told him they'd be seeking charges against him for online childsolicitation, but they had to let him go until they could examine the contents of his homecomputer.

Through their investigation, authorities verified that he was not only using klpcook topick up women, but he used mwants1nitestand, as well. A bench warrant was issued two days later,and Pettiford was quickly apprehended.

But when he failed to appear for his trial in mid-November 2009, cops came knocking onAMW’s door.

Alleged Online Predator Brazen As Can Be

During their conversations, Pettiford told Lt. Whitehead that he works as a privatecontractor for the U.S. Army, and would soon be shipping out to Africa.

Cops have been unable to verify his claims, so he may very well still be in the country. Theysay he's still using his same Yahoo! Chat screen names klpcook and mwants1nitestand.

Thoughts? The above was the AMW archived profile of one of their web-exclusive fugitives.Pettiford claimed to soon be going to Africa, however it couldn't be confirmed he actually workedfor the Army. Not to mention, wherever he is in the world, these guys don't stop preying. That'swhy it's so important Pettiford is caught. And Chris Hansen hasn't done a Dateline special inyears, so it will be up to us to catch him.

web.archive.org/web/20100331141802/http://www.amw.com/fugitives/brief.cfm?id=71940

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