Suspected NC fugitive from 1970s arrested in Iowa

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WATERLOO, Iowa — Police believe a North Carolina fugitive who has been on the run for 40 years has been living in Waterloo, Iowa.

According to the LaCrosse Tribune, Ronald Dwaine Carnes, 68, was caught last week when the Iowa Department of Transportation’s biometric recognition system flagged his driver’s license photo.

Carnes is being detained on fraud and gun charges, and officials are awaiting a fingerprint check to confirm his identity, according to authorities.

Carnes was convicted of robbery with a dangerous weapon in Winston-Salem in November 1970 and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

He then escaped from the Mecklenburg Correctional Center in Huntersville, N.C., in August 1973, according to the North Carolina Department of Corrections.

Carnes reportedly moved to Waterloo from Washington state in the summer of 2013. His residence before then is not known.

Last July, he used the name William Henry Cox to obtain a vehicle title, and then on March 11, he used the identity of Louie Vance to apply for an Iowa driver’s license.

The North Carolina Department of Public Safety’s extradition office has been notified of Carnes’ capture and is working to extradite him back to North Carolina.