KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las VegasNew Details About Fugitive Found in Las Vegas

New Details About Fugitive Found in Las Vegas

Jack Hazen, a fugitive that was on the run for more than 30 years, appeared for the first time in a Las Vegas courtroom Monday morning.

Conrad Claus, his attorney, asked the judge for 24 hours to talk to with his client. As a result, the fugitive hearing on extradition was delayed until Tuesday.

The arrest of Hazen, who went by the name Charles Free, was a shock to his family and friends who say they did not know about his troubled past. Free has been living in a modest one-story house off of Cheyenne and Rainbow.

Back in 1976, Hazen was serving a seven year sentence in Jackson, Florida for an aggravated assault conviction when he escaped. According to his attorney, he was in a work release program and escaped after serving a little more than a year because another inmate had put a contract on his life.

Hazen made his way to Las Vegas where he started a new life. He has been married for 27 years and has two grown children.

Hazen's family is hoping for leniency because they say he is a terminally ill man. 

"My client has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. He also has Alzheimer's as well as some other serious health issues," Claus said.

For 32 years, police in Florida have been looking for Hazen and got a break when they received a tip he was in Las Vegas. 

Detectives say it is amazing that he stayed under the radar for so long. But when they went to arrest him at his home they say he willing admitted to his identity and has been cooperating with the authorities.