HARNETT COUNTY, N.C. — Law enforcement authorities arrested a man in Ohio on Friday and charged him in the 1988 death of a Harnett County resident.

U.S. marshals from Raleigh and Columbus, Ohio, and members of the Lillington Police Department arrested Alvin Delano McDougal at his sister's house in Columbus, Ohio, at about 10 p.m. Friday, the U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of North Carolina said.

Detectives said the investigation began with the murder of Tim Simons, of Lillington, N.C., on Dec. 21, 1988. After nearly 20 years of few leads about the suspect's whereabouts, Lillington police recently contacted the U.S. Marshals Service and requested assistance.

Within two weeks, investigators said U.S. marshals found out that McDougal had moved from New York to Ohio and was living under the alias Tim Jenkins.

According to investigators, when they asked the suspect if he knew why they were there, McDougal replied, "Yes."

He was taken into custody without incident, they said.