A man once hunted for more than five years as a fugitive on Massachusetts' Most Wanted list is back in custody, this time accused of showing up outside a Massachusetts State Police trooper's home and threatening him on camera. Steven Touch, who is currently out on probation after a manslaughter conviction tied to a deadly 2012 Billerica home invasion, was arrested Thursday in Lowell on a new charge of intimidation of a witness.
According to CBS Boston, whose reporting was authored by Cheryl Fiandaca, Touch allegedly appeared on video outside the trooper's home saying, “Good cop… bad cop,” and, “You can't beat science baby, ready to kill to find out.” The trooper had reportedly served as a witness in a case involving the Young Bloods gang, a Lynn-area street gang that Touch is accused of leading. Massachusetts State Police have since provided 24-hour security outside the trooper's home, per the same report.
Touch is now held in Lowell on the witness intimidation charge and is scheduled to be arraigned Monday morning. The case immediately drew attention because of Touch's long and violent history: he previously faced first-degree murder charges and home invasion charges in the 2012 killing of 22-year-old Quintin Koehler in Billerica, a case that once landed him on the state's Most Wanted list.
A Fugitive Caught Hiding in a Bed Frame
Touch's road to that list began after he skipped a Middlesex Superior Court appearance in January 2017 on firearms charges, including carrying a loaded firearm, possessing a large-capacity feeding device, and defacing a serial number, according to the Middlesex District Attorney's Office. A federal arrest warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution followed in May 2017, and the FBI reported that Touch used aliases including “Kevin Touch,” “Fat Boy,” and “C Sick” while on the run.
Federal investigators also documented gang-affiliated tattoos on Touch, including the words “Blood” on his upper arm, “Mayhem” on his neck, and “Young Blood” on his inner forearm, which the FBI used to help establish his leadership role within the Lynn-area gang, per Boston 25 News. The FBI had offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to his capture.
Touch's run as a fugitive ended in 2018, when he was arrested in Lynn after more than five years on the run. Police found him hiding in a drawer built into a bed frame inside a Lynn apartment. The Middlesex District Attorney's Office says he was apprehended at a residence on Empire Street during a joint operation involving the Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section, the MSP STOP Team, Lynn Police, and the FBI North Shore Gang Task Force.
How a Murder Charge Became a Manslaughter Plea
Touch's arrest capped one chapter of a case rooted in the July 2012 home invasion that killed Koehler. Investigators with the Massachusetts State Police and Billerica Police determined that Touch served as the getaway driver while masked accomplices smashed a door off its hinges searching for cash and marijuana before fatally shooting Koehler, according to WHDH.
In February 2020, Touch pleaded guilty in Middlesex Superior Court to manslaughter, home invasion, and conspiracy charges, and Judge Kenneth J. Fishman sentenced him to 10 years in state prison. That plea deal resolved the first-degree murder indictment he had originally faced and explains why he is currently out on probation rather than still serving time in connection with the case.
Two other co-defendants in the killing, Jason Estabrook and Peter Bin, were convicted at trial and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole before Touch's plea was finalized, the outlet's report notes. Plot organizer Adam Bradley was sentenced in 2017 to life without parole and was later accused of soliciting gang associates from jail to have a prosecution witness killed — a prior instance of witness targeting connected to the same case now echoed by Touch's alleged threats against the trooper.
What Touch Could Face Under State Law
Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 268, Section 13B, witness intimidation is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in state prison, according to the Serpa Law Office. That maximum rises to 20 years when the underlying proceeding involves a crime punishable by life imprisonment. The statute explicitly protects police officers, investigators, judges, jurors, witnesses, and their family members from direct or indirect threats, economic injury, or harassment meant to interfere with criminal investigations or trials.
It remains unclear which specific Young Bloods case the trooper was testifying in when Touch allegedly confronted him, and whether the new charge will trigger a probation revocation on top of the witness intimidation case. Touch is set to be arraigned Monday morning.
