A fugitive was on the run for 40 years. Police finally arrested him for public intoxication
WILMINGTON, Del. — For 40 years, South Carolina fugitive Jose Romero successfully evaded capture, having fled the state in 1979 after being convicted of armed robbery.
That changed Saturday when Dover police arrested him for public intoxication following a trespassing complaint at a convenience store.
Dover Police Department officers were dispatched to the White Oak Road store on Saturday after receiving a complaint about a man trespassing. There, they found 64-year-old Romero, whom they initially charged with public intoxication and trespassing.
Romero gave officers a Delaware ID with the name Arnaldo Figueroa, which was also the name he gave officers, police said.
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Officers processed Romero under that name during his arrest, and the 64-year-old signed all of the legal documents using the "Arnaldo Figueroa" name.
On Monday, the Delaware State Bureau of Identification contacted Dover police, saying the fictitious "Figueroa's" fingerprints came back to Jose Romero, who was wanted out of South Carolina.
Police later learned that Romero had fled a work crew on Dec. 13, 1979. He was serving an 18-year sentence for an armed robbery, the Anderson Independent Mail reported.
Though Romero had been released following his arrest, Dover police found and rearrested him on Wednesday.
He was charged with being a fugitive, forgery and criminal impersonation. He is currently being held at Sussex Correctional Institution on $18,000 cash bond while he awaits extradition to South Carolina.
Follow Isabel Hughes on Twitter: @izzihughes_.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: South Carolina fugitive wanted for 40 years arrested in Delaware
