A man who allegedly escaped from prison in North Carolina in 1973 has been formally charged in Iowa. Sixty-nine-year-old Ronald Carnes is charged with four counts of Social Security fraud, two counts of identity theft and one count of being a felon and fugitive from justice in possession of a firearm.
Carnes was living in Waterloo and raised suspicion after facial recognition software at the DOT found he had applied for two driver’s licenses. Police in Waterloo found copies of birth certificates that were not his at Carnes’ home in April. He allegedly used them to collect Social Security and obtain driver’s licenses that he used to avoid being captured.
Carnes is being held without bond until his next court appearance in August.