19 Years On the Run: Oklahoma prison escapee back in custody

A man is back in an Oklahoma prison nearly 20 years after he escaped.

U.S. Marshals arrested Steven Capps in Muskogee earlier this month, 19 years after he escaped from the Jim E. Hamilton Correctional Center in Hogden, Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Department of Corrections says Capps even served time in prison in Ohio during that time.

When did Capps escape?

DOC says Capps walked away from the Jim E. Hamilton minimum security prison in 2006. Capps was serving a 10-year sentence for obtaining property by trick or deception. DOC says another prisoner escaped with Capps, but was caught shortly after.

DOC learned that while Capps was on the run, he spent 10 years in prison in Ohio for breaking and entering. They say Capps was then put on parole there in 2021 and disappeared again. DOC says Capps violated his parole by not reporting to his parole officer.

"Our Fugitive Apprehension Team started going through some of our inmates that are still at large, and started reworking some of these cases, so through great investigative work, they were able to locate Capps living in Muskogee," said Kay Thompson with Oklahoma DOC.

DOC says they aren't sure why Ohio didn't let Oklahoma know, Capps was released there.

"They are interested in potentially bringing him back to Ohio to finish out his term there as well," said Thompson.

Apprehending walkways:

DOC says it is rare for a walkaway or escapee to be on the run this long without getting caught and brought back to Oklahoma.

"We take all escapees and walkaways very seriously, so it doesn't really matter the crime. If you exit illegally from one of our facilities, we will come find you," said Thompson.

Where is Capps now?

Capps was booked into the Muskogee County jail but has been transferred to the Lexington Correctional Center. DOC says Capps has a little more than three years left to serve on his original sentence.