Fugitive surrenders after 30 years on the run after becoming homeless due to coronavirus

An Australian fugitive who has spent the past 30 years on the run has surrendered to police after being made homeless following the coronavirus outbreak.

Darko Desic was 13 months away from his three and a half year sentence when he managed to escape from Grafton Correctional Facility in New South Wales, Australia on August 1, 1992.

After being charged with two counts of cultivating a prohibited plant – in this case growing marijuana – Desic used tools including a hacksaw blade and bolt cutters to gain his freedom, which continued after a thorough search by authorities was unsuccessful.

On Sunday morning September 12, Desic entered Dee Why police station and surrendered to the police, after which detectives from the Serious Robbery and Serious Crime Squad charged the 64-year-old with escaping his home. jail.

Sources close to the investigation cited by ABC News said that after his escape Desic fled to the beaches of northern Sydney and began working as a builder and handyman, accepting payment in cash. He reportedly lived in a house in Avalon, but was evicted after the coronavirus pandemic caused a shortage of jobs.

Talk to The daily telegraph, through 7News, a police source said:

He said he lived in Avalon, just doing odd jobs for money for almost three decades.

He was totally law abiding, never attracted attention, he was never spoken to. He told us he never caused anyone any problems so no one ever looked at him twice.

Desic started sleeping on the beach, but eventually decided that life behind bars would be “much easier” than being “homeless”.

The source continued: “COVID has stopped all cash work, he has been made homeless for the past two weeks and he has slept on the beach on Saturday night and said ‘stuff him, I will go back to jail where there is has a roof over my head ”.

Desic, who was born in Yugoslavia, is said to have claimed that he initially escaped from prison for fear of being deported to Yugoslavia and of being punished for escaping without completing his compulsory military service.

The 64-year-old appeared in central local court yesterday from his cell in Surry Hills, when he was denied bail. Desic is now expected to appear in the same court later this month.