Attorney Rob Kuenzel wasn't always a lawyer. Previously, he served in the West Virginia State Police for many years. On the latest edition of "Ask the Attorney," Kuenzel recounted the time he captured a fugitive featured on the television series, "America's Most Wanted."

Robert Fields | WVOW News

LOGAN Thirty-three years ago this month, attorney Rob Kuenzel had his “fifteen seconds of fame” on national television after he captured a fugitive on America’s Most Wanted list.

In October 1991, Trooper Robert Kuenzel with the West Virginia State Police arrested a man named Timothy Brewster Sr. in connection with an attempted home invasion. On the latest edition of “Ask the Attorney,” Kuenzel recalled a local resident coming into the former State Police headquarters to report the incident – this was before Logan County had 9-1-1 services. He said a man had reportedly been chased into the woods near Logan after trying to break into a woman’s house.

“So, Pete Kelley and his son came up to the office and he said, ‘Kuenzel, man, this guy was trying to break in on Miss West and he ran up into the woods.’ I think it may have just been me and another trooper that night and – wasn’t sure about getting up in the woods late at night,” said Kuenzel. “Pete said, ‘well, his car; he left his car down here,’ so I told Pete, ‘well, if he comes back for the car, let me know; we’ll stop him then, go get him.”

Brewster did return to his car and, according to Kuenzel, Kelley followed him to see where he went. The suspect had allegedly driven to a home in the area of Cora. After finding out where the home invader was staying, Kelley returned to the State Police headquarters and told Kuenzel where to find his man.

“So I go up and knock on the door, a guy comes to the door and I said, ‘hey, who owns the car out here,” and he said, “my nephew,” Kuenzel said.

The homeowner told Kuenzel his nephew wasn’t home, at which point Kuenzel asked if he could search the residence. He said he was then allowed to enter the house while another trooper who had accompanied him waited outside.

“I walked in and went into this room to the right and it was pitch black – I mean, no lights on,” he said. “I opened the door, shined my flashlight in. There’s a guy sitting on the couch in the pitch black eating a bologna sandwich, with one hand under his leg and he had a bologna sandwich in his other hand. Sitting in the pitch dark. I said, ‘put your hands up.’ So finally, he puts his hands up and he stands up and there’s a gun under his leg. Anyway, we arrest him for trying to break into Miss West’s house.”

Following Timothy Brewster’s arrest, Kuenzel says he was later contacted by Ernestine Hill, Cora’s Postmaster at that time, who said that Brewster was much more than a simple burglar.

“Miss Hill asks for me by name and I got on the phone. She said, ‘Kuenzel, the guy that you guys arrested up here, he was on America’s Most Wanted,’ and I said, “are you kidding,” and she goes, ‘no, I’ve been calling your office for two weeks.’”

She said that nobody had believed her when she’d called before, but Kuenzel decided to follow up, involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the case. After Brewster’s fingerprints were taken and sent to the FBI, Kuenzel said it didn’t take long before they got the confirmation.

On October 4, 1991, an episode of America’s Most Wanted aired nationwide on television, asking for the public’s help in locating Brewster and bringing him to justice – or rather back to justice. He was supposed to be serving time behind bars in Franklin County, Ohio after being convicted for rape in October 1989. While Brewster was in jail, Kuenzel said he devised a plan to get out early.

“He had an eighteen-year-old son that he really had nothing to do with for a majority of the child’s life. So, he had written him a letter; he said, ‘on this such and such date, I’m going to fake a suicide attempt; they’ll take me to this hospital,’ and he said, ‘what I want you to do is I want you to come out, have a gun, we’ll overpower the guards and kind of ride off into the sunset together, me and you, father and son.’ So, the son did that. The son showed up, overpowered the guards, they took the guards’ guns, they locked them in the van – the transport van – and Brewster bailed on his son.”

The son was quickly apprehended following the escape attempt; Brewster waived his rights and was extradited back to Ohio to serve the rest of his sentence, escaping any additional charges for the attempted break-in; and Kuenzel got what he called his moment in the national spotlight when Brewster’s case was updated on America’s Most Wanted.

“The only thing I said that made it to national America’s Most Wanted was when I said, “and then we got a call from a viewer who had seen this on America’s Most Wanted.” So that was the little clip, that was the snippet of Rob Kuenzel’s fifteen seconds of fame on national television.”

Catch the full conversation between attorney Rob Kuenzel and WVOW’s Aaron Stone on “ ” Wednesday mornings at 8:45 on 101.9 FM/AM 1290, as well as online at wvowradio.com or on the WVOW mobile app for iPhone.