OXFORD – A 23-year-old Oxford man was taken into custody last week after it was discovered that he was an Army deserter and fugitive from justice, according to Oxford Police Chief Richard Nolan.

PFC Stephen A. Drwal was arrested Wednesday on a warrant issued by the U.S. Army. Drwal, who enlisted in April of 2008, is currently attached to the Army’s 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, stationed in Ft. Stewart, Ga. His current enlistment would have been up on Aug. 25. According to documentation received by the Oxford police, he failed to report for duty at 6 a.m. on May 25. He was initially considered absent without leave, but on June 24 his status changed to that of deserter. His information was transferred to the U.S. Army’s Desertion Information Point in Fort Knox, Kent. approximately one month later.

According to Nolan, Drwal came to the attention of the Oxford police last Tuesday on an unrelated matter, when he attempted to retrieve a car which had been impounded.

The car, registered to Drwal’s mother, had been driven by another Oxford man, 24-year-old Alexander R. Guzman, the previous evening when Guzman was arrested the previous evening for aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.