A convicted armed bank robber who went on the run in 2006 has been recaptured by US authorities after turning up as a villain in a low budget horror movie.
Jason Stage was arrested on Friday by US marshals, who tracked him down to the capital of Washington State, Olympia, where he had been shooting the movie ‘Marla Mae’.
Stange was photographed in a newspaper report about the movie in a local newspaper, and was clearly shown looking relaxed in several shots.
From Raw Story:
the $8,000 production had just wrapped. Stange, who is credited under the name Jason Strange on the movie’s IMDb page , was stopped by the authorities after leaving the set to buy cigarettes. He was allowed to return his costume before he was taken to jail.
Producer Brandon Roberts said Stange was “a great guy” and a talented actor who had “really nailed the audition” for the part of Dr Lourdes, an abortion clinic doctor who commits a deranged act.
“Everyone really liked him a lot,” Roberts told the Tacoma News Tribune. It is understood first-time director Lisa van Dam-Bates, who also plays Marla, has decided to keep Stange’s scenes in the movie.
The fugitive was sentenced to 117 months behind bars in 2006 after pleading guilty to an armed bank robbery. Stange had been living in a halfway house but violated his probation in July last year by leaving without permission, resulting in the issue of a warrant for his arrest.
Producers say Marla Mae was inspired by the cult classic horror movies of the 1980s. The plot of the movie says “the story follows modest twentysomething Marla, who must uncover the diabolical reason for her boyfriend’s death while being sought after [sic] by local Olympia police who suspect her of the crime”.
Producers hope to release the movie next year.
