A 71-year-old Wisconsin man’s three-decade run from the law ended in West Des Moines, Iowa, after a minor traffic stop for a missing bike reflector.
George Hartleroad, who had been living under the alias Gregory Stallins, was pulled over on his bicycle by police on June 26th.
When questioned by police, Hartleroad claimed not to have a driver’s license for decades. Officers later discovered that the name he provided belonged to a deceased individual.
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Hartleroad had been a fugitive since 1995 after escaping from a halfway house in Madison, Wisconsin.
He had been serving time for a 1983 conviction on charges of false imprisonment, endangering safety, and possession of a short-barreled rifle. The conviction stemmed from a violent incident where he held a woman at knifepoint, sexually assaulted her, and tied her to a tree.
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Body camera footage showed officers expressing disbelief that Hartleroad had managed to evade capture for so long. Hartleroad himself remarked that he would flee again if given the chance.
Hartleroad has since been extradited to Wisconsin and is currently being held at the Dane County Jail.
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