`Most Wanted' Suspect Arrested In Philadelphia

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A man the FBI put on its Ten Most Wanted list after a racially motivated 1992 gang rape and killing was nabbed yesterday in Philadelphia.

Joseph Martin Luther Gardner, 24, was caught after a woman who saw his wanted picture called police Tuesday. He was arrested without incident at a store by Philadelphia police, FBI Agent James Oppy said.

Gardner, a Charleston-based Navy sailor who had been absent without leave, is the alleged triggerman in the death of Melissa Ann McLauchlin, who was shot in the face five times.

Some of the defendants, all of whom are black, made a New Year's resolution to rape and kill a white woman as retribution for centuries of oppression, police said.

Six other people charged in the case have been sentenced to terms ranging from 1 1/2 years to life plus 30 years in prison. Two were convicted of murder.