Raleigh man arrested for 17-year-old manslaughter case

A Raleigh man was arrested Monday after being on the run for 17 years for violating probation on an Arizona manslaughter conviction.

Bobby Rea Irwin, 55, was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service Violent Fugitive Task Force. Authorities said Irwin had changed his name, married and assumed an entirely new life in Raleigh as a support technician in the computer industry.

Authorities said Irwin was convicted in 1989 of manslaughter. In 1992, a warrant was issued for his arrest in Maricopa County, Arizona alleging he had violated his probation.

Last week, authorities in Phoenix contacted the U.S. Marshals in Raleigh with evidence of his new identity.

Irwin was arrested at his Raleigh home and his identity was confirmed through his fingerprints. He is in the Wake County jail awaiting extradition back to Arizona.