This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
For 34 years, convicted thief Sam Gene Harris eluded capture by the FBI after escaping prison in Mississippi. On Friday, his freedom ended 2,100 miles away — in Utah's Carbon County.
Price police Capt. Bill Barnes said the FBI notified law enforcement in the southcentral Utah region that Harris, 61, was believed to be living under an alias in the Wellington area.
Barnes said Harris had been living in Utah for several years under the name of Wayne Edward Stevens.
Price police Detective Chris Pugliese developed current background on Harris which proved instrumental in his uneventful arrest on Friday in Wellington by Wellington police and Carbon County sheriff's deputies.
No further information about Harris was immediately released, though Barnes indicated several local law enforcement agencies were still investigating the man's activities in Utah, apparently prior to any extradition proceedings involving the Mississippi Department of Corrections are finalized.
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