Sherman Fugitive Facing Extradition May Escape Jail Time Due to Health Issues: Report

DANBURY, CT — A Sherman man who broke out of a Georgia prison in 1968 and was living under an assumed name in Sherman for decades may escape jail time due to his declining health, according to a report on The News Times.

Georgia prison officials accepted a plan to let Robert Stackowitz, 71, avoid extradition to Georgia if Connecticut officials agree to supervise him, according to the report. U.S. Marshals arrested Stackowitz on Monday, May 9, 2016, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections. Stackowitz was serving a 17-year sentence for robbery by force when he escaped from the Carroll County Correctional Institution on August 22, 1968. He had been convicted in Henry County in 1966.

According to news reports, Stackowitz, who was living under the assumed name "Bob Gordon," slipped up and used his real name to applying for social security benefits. The Georgia Department of Corrections' Fugitive Apprehension unit reopened the case and began an investigation which led Marshals to his location in Connecticut, the department said. Authorities say Stackowitz was arrested without incident.

"He was a little speechless," state trooper Michael Saraceno told The News-Times in Danbury, Connecticut. "I think it's been so long that I think he reached a point in his head where he thought they would never find him."

Read more here.

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48-Year Sherman Fugitive Facing Extradition Appears In Court: Nearby News

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