A 24-year-old fugitive wanted on attempted murder and kidnapping charges was arrested last night in West Baltimore after 17 days on the run, during which his family reported that he had been kidnapped, the FBI said.

Paul Antonio Burton was arrested about 8 p.m. by members of the Maryland Joint Violent Crime Fugitive Task Force at a house on Rokeby Road in Edmondson Village, said Andy Manning, spokesman for the Baltimore FBI office.

Burton was not believed to have been kidnapped but was instead trying to dodge Baltimore County authorities who were seeking to send him to prison in the robbery, kidnapping and attempted murder of a Baltimore man, Mr. Manning said.

Burton had disappeared March 22, the second day of his trial in Baltimore County Circuit Court. He was convicted in absentia of the charges. But just hours before the trial ended, relatives reported he had been kidnapped from his East Baltimore home by four masked men.

Baltimore County police were skeptical that Burton had been kidnapped and issued a warrant for his arrest, believing he was trying to avoid a stiff prison sentence. He could be sentenced to nearly 100 years in prison.