Utah man convicted of murder arrested in California after escaping federal custody

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Frank Gene Powell, a convicted murderer, was arrested in California after escaping federal custody in January.
Powell, 57, was apprehended during a traffic stop in Stockton on Thursday.
Powell was sentenced in 2020 for fraud and has a violent criminal history.

SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah man convicted of murder, aggravated sexual assault and fraud, among several other crimes, was arrested in California on Wednesday after escaping federal custody in January, police said.

A statement from the Stockton Police Department said that at about 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, police and U.S. Marshals Service officers conducted a traffic stop in north Stockton that led to the arrest of Frank Gene Powell, 57, who was listed as "escaped" in the Federal Bureau of Prisons' online inmate locator since Jan. 16.

"Powell was transported to the San Joaquin County jail, where he was booked on his warrant," said the statement.

The Utah Department of Corrections confirmed to KSL that its systems show Powell is in the custody of another agency, but declined to disclose which agency, specifically.

A warrant for Powell's arrest was initially issued by Utah's parole board on Jan. 30 following his escape, but the bureau did not alert the public about Powell's fugitive status despite his lengthy and violent criminal history.

Powell was most recently sentenced to serve 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty in 2020 to a slew of federal charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering and tampering with a witness. He was also ordered to pay nearly $274,000 in restitution after targeting an 80-year-old widow in a "romance fraud" scheme.

"Powell is a career criminal who has fended off decades of rehabilitative attempts in the Utah state criminal justice system. He's a convicted murderer and sexual predator who has now turned his criminal efforts to elder fraud while on state parole," former U.S. Attorney for Utah John Huber said in 2020.

Powell was on parole when he defrauded the woman after he spent nearly three decades in the Utah State Prison for murdering a man in Utah County in 1987, in what began as a fight over whose truck was faster. Powell ran over and killed Glen Candland, 20, after a house party in Pleasant Grove.

Powell is also convicted of two felony counts of aggravated sexual assault against another inmate while incarcerated.

This story may be updated.

Contributing: Daniella Rivera

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