STERLING, Colo.—An inmate who escaped from a maximum-security prison in northeast Colorado and held a woman hostage before surrendering has accepted a plea deal.
The Sterling Journal-Advocate reports ( ) 49-year-old Douglas Alward pleaded guilty Friday to first-degree burglary and second-degree kidnapping in what was his fourth escape. He was sentenced to 30 years behind bars.
Alward had been scheduled to go to trial April 30. He accepted a plea after a judge had denied a motion to suppress certain evidence in the case, including statements to law-enforcement officials.
Alward escaped Aug. 22, 2010, from a prison outside Sterling where he was serving time for attempted murder, assault, kidnapping and burglary. He was arrested three days later in Yuma, where he held a woman hostage for a few hours. She wasn’t hurt.
———
Information from: Journal-Advocate,
