Florida

Guilty Plea Set for S. Fla. Man in Decades Old Case

An elderly Florida man who was on the lam for 37 years until being captured in Mexico is scheduled to plead guilty in Miami federal court.

U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke scheduled an April 8 plea change hearing for 81-year-old Robert Anton Woodring, who previously pleaded not guilty to jumping bail. Prosecutors say Woodring failed to surrender in 1977 to begin serving prison sentences for fraud and for a related conviction involving an attempt to flee in his 60-foot yacht so officials couldn't seize it.

Woodring never reported to prison and was charged with bail-jumping in 1984.

U.S. Marshals caught Woodring in Guadalajara, Mexico, in December after getting a tip while searching for another fugitive. Mexican officials sent him back to the U.S.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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