Fugitive arrested 28 years after prison escape

updated 3:41 p.m. ET Oct. 24, 2007

PHILADELPHIA - A man who escaped from a New Jersey prison 28 years ago was arrested Wednesday at his Philadelphia home, making one last bid to conceal his identity and remain a free man.

Maximo Jurado, 75, was serving a 4- to 10-year prison sentence for a drug offense when he left the state's since-closed Marlboro Camp in central New Jersey. He had served less than four months of his term.

Confronted by officers from several law enforcement agencies, Jurado initially insisted his name was "Juan." A few minutes later, when shown a prison photo of himself from 1979, he confessed: "It's me."

Jurado was not an especially notorious criminal — though he had several run-ins with the law in the 1960s and 1970s — and his escape didn't get much attention at the time.

He managed to avoid capture longer than all but a few people who have escaped from New Jersey prisons. He said he avoided breaking the law and moved around frequently.

Authorities say they tracked him through several states and aliases before catching up with him.

Journalists from The Associated Press accompanied the officers who made the arrest.

Jurado was being held in Philadelphia awaiting extradited to New Jersey.

He will have to complete his original sentence and could get up to five more years in prison if he is convicted of escape.

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