Marshals Capture Prison Escapee In Hillyard

Thu., Dec. 17, 1998

By Bill Morlin billm@spokesman.com

A prison escapee with suspected ties to the Aryan Nations was captured Wednesday afternoon in northeast Spokane after a lengthy foot-chase by federal officers.

Sean A. Patterson, 24, who escaped from the Geiger Corrections Facility on Nov. 10, was arrested near Wellesley and Market in Hillyard, authorities said.

A Drug Enforcement Administration agent suffered a head injury while helping deputy U.S. marshals catch Patterson.

Authorities declined to release the agent’s name but said he injured his jaw when he stumbled on a railroad track.

The agent was sent to a hospital.

The escapee was spotted while attempting to buy chemicals that authorities said were apparently intended for use in an illegal drug-manufacturing process.

Patterson fled and was chased three-quarters of a mile before being apprehended, authorities said.

“Patterson has a lengthy prior criminal history, including assault and firearm convictions,” deputy U.S. Marshal Ray Fleck said in a court affidavit.

Patterson was sentenced to 37 months in prison in September 1996 after being convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

The federal charges were filed after Patterson went into a Spokane high school and threatened several students with a handgun, the affidavit said.

It also said Patterson “is believed to associate with or be part of an Aryan Nations group who may be assisting him.”

A prison letter from Patterson was signed with two Nazi “SS” lightning bolts and an Aryan Nations reference, the affidavit said.

The suspect was taken before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cynthia Imbrogno, who ordered him held without bond.

Patterson served most of his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution at Sandstone, Minn.

On Oct. 9, he was moved to the Geiger prison, where prisoners get work-release privileges before their release.

Patterson left the prison on the morning of Nov. 10 for employment as part of his work-release privileges. He didn’t show up for work and was reported as an escapee when he failed to return to the prison that evening. With credit for good behavior, Patterson had been scheduled to be released from prison on Dec. 8.

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