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Saturday, September 15, 2007

Bondsman Apprehends 'Dead' Fugitive

According to this report in the Star Press of Muncie, IN, on the day Shawnda Hatfield was scheduled to appear in court for sentencing on a forgery conviction, a newspaper obituary announced her unexpected death and cremation. The obituary appeared after a caller claiming to be Hatfield's niece phoned the newspaper to report her death, later providing a telephone number purported to be that of a Florida crematory handling the deceased's remains. The Star Press also received an obituary notice from an Eaton funeral home, announcing "Shawanda Hatfield" had died Aug. 28 in a Tampa hospital, with cremation planned in Florida. A copy of the death notice was sent by fax that day to the judge's office.

An unnamed bondsman, acting on rumors that Hatfield was in fact alive, tracked the convicted felon down and apprehended her. After she was returned to custody, Hatfield was sentenced to six-years with two years suspended. Hatfield had previously served time in the Indiana Department of Corrections for forgery.

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