State drops case against man who spent 48 years as fugitive

DANBURY, Conn. – A man who spent 48 years as a fugitive before being found in a small Connecticut town is now under a parole officer’s supervision after the one remaining criminal case against him was dismissed.

A state judge in Danbury on Tuesday dropped a fugitive-from-justice charge against 71-year-old Robert Stackowitz. He’ll be under parole supervision until 2022.

Stackowitz escaped from a prison work camp in Carrolton, Georgia, in 1968 while serving a 17-year sentence for robbery. He was arrested at his home in Sherman in May.

Georgia officials recently withdrew their extradition request and accepted the parole supervision plan after learning that Stackowitz has serious health problems, including heart failure and bladder cancer.

Stackowitz’s lawyers say his health problems have made it difficult for him to leave home.