A sex predator who escaped from custody after leaving a Virginia prison was apprehended in Washington D.C.
(Mirror Daily, United States) – A spokesperson for the Bureau of Prison declared that the sex offender who escaped from custody after being released from a Virginia penitentiary was caught on Wednesday. The suspect was apprehended in Washington DC by the law enforcement officers after receiving an anonymous tip.
On Wednesday, police officials captured 45-year-old Matthew Ezekiel Stager in DC. The suspect was recently released from a Virginia prison where he was serving a five-year sentence because he refused to register as a sex offender. Stager was to fly to a halfway house in Petersburg earlier this week, but he didn’t show up.
The authorities began looking for Stager and finally tracked him down on Wednesday at an apartment complex near 4th Street near DC’s Superior Court. According to the Bureau of Prisons, the 45-year-old male who was arrested on Wednesday was first convicted in 1999 on an indecent liberty with a minor charge in North Carolina. Subsequently, the state ordered Matthew Ezekiel Stager to register as a sex offender.
However, the 45-year-old man refuse to register as a sex offender, and was sentenced to five years of prison in 2013. This year, the Bureau of Prisons reviewed Stager’s case, and deemed him a minimal risk convict. Thus, the officials ordered him to be transferred from a medium-security prison to a halfway house, which should alleviate the process of reintegration.
Unfortunately, it would seem that the man looked upon this opportunity as a means to escape, and never showed up at the halfway house in Petersburg. After failing to show up, the Bureau of Prisons initiated a statewide search in order to apprehend the man.
On Wednesday, Matthew Ezekiel Stager was tracked down and captured at an apartment complex situated on 4th Street. The man did not oppose resistance during arrest, and made no attempts to justify his gesture.
According to the authorities, they had not trouble tracking down the suspect, as Stager’s demeanor makes him stand out in a crowd. Stager is approximately 5 foot 8, has thin blonde or sometimes strawberry hair, and his face, neck, and chest are covered by tattoos. The police authorities also stated that they’ve received an anonymous tip from a citizen who spotted the sex offender at the above-mentioned address.
At this point, it’s still unclear what will happen to Stager after his little escapade. The authorities refused to say whether they’re going to press charged or not against the fugitive.
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