Convict Who Escaped Prison 40 Years Ago Arrested In Delaware

An inmate who escaped while serving his time at the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) over forty years ago will see himself behind bars once again after being arrested in Delaware Wednesday.

Jose Chico Romero was arrested on December 28 after Dover police responded to a trespassing report at a local convenience store, said NBC News, citing a statement from the police.

By the time he was arrested, the 64-year-old presented himself as Arnold Figueroa and even had a Delaware identification under the same alias.

Two days after his arrest, however, the Delaware State Bureau of Identification pointed that his fingerprints belonged to an inmate who escaped prison forty years ago.

SCDC officials told WRDE that Romero was serving an 18-year sentence for armed robbery. He escaped on December 13, 1979 when he was assigned as one of the work crew at the former Anderson County Stockade.

Romero was one of the inmates that were housed at the Stockade. Back then, the building was used to house short-term inmates assigned to work in the county.

He is now booked at Sussex Correctional Institution under a fugitive warrant and has waived extradition. In addition, Romero was also charged with public intoxication, third-degree criminal trespassing, loitering, four counts of second-degree forgery and criminal impersonation.

SCDC officials further stated that Romero will be required to serve the remaining seven years in his original sentence and any additional time for his escape.