Skip to main content
Press Release

Arizona Man Pleads Not Guilty To 1997 Escape Charge

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of South Dakota

United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that an Arizona man, who has been on the run for more than 15 years, was captured by authorities in Arizona on September 10, 2013.
         
Steven C. Durant, age 57, was originally indicted by a federal grand jury on April 9, 1997, for Escape.  The Indictment stemmed from Durant allegedly leaving the Community Alternatives of the Black Hills on March 21, 1997.  Following the April 1997 Indictment, Durant went missing for several years until his recent capture.   
         
Durant appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Veronica L. Duffy on September 24, 2013, and pled not guilty to the 1997 Indictment.
         
The maximum penalty upon conviction is 5 years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.  The charge is merely an accusation and Durant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service.  Durant was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.  A trial date has not been set.
Updated June 22, 2015