Fugitive captured after 31 years on the run

Armin Christian escaped from a South Carolina prison over 30 years ago, but was arrested Wednesday in Rhode Island.

Christian, 65, has been living in Rhode Island for years under an assumed name.

He was taken into custody as he left his Bristol apartment.

“As soon as we approached him he made a statement that he knew why we were there. He said that he had planned to straighten the situation out by returning to South Carolina,” Police Capt. Michael J. Winquist said.

Christian waived extradition and was arraigned in a Providence court Wednesday. He will be escorted back to South Carolina Thursday and charged with escaping from a correctional facility.

“The best we can tell is he moved here sometime in 1999. He claimed that he had lived in several other states prior to coming to Rhode Island. He had been here living alone working as a handyman over that period of time. He actually has stayed out of trouble. No indications that he has been arrested since he arrived in Rhode Island,” Winquist said.

He was at the now-defunct Piedmont Work Center in Greenville, S.C. serving one month of his 11-month prison sentence for domestic non-payment of child support. He broke out on Christmas Day 1980.

South Carolina corrections officials received an anonymous tip on his whereabouts, which led to his capture.