Belknap County fugitive caught in upstate NY

LACONIA — The man who escaped from the Belknap County Jail Monday night was apprehended in New York state Wednesday after being on the run for 1 1/2 days.

Peter DiBiaso was apprehended in Corning, New York, at about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Belknap County Sheriff Bill Wright reported.

Wright said Corning police were called to check on a parked vehicle and when officers arrived at the location they took DiBiaso into custody without incident.

“We’re glad he’s in custody and that no one was hurt,” Wright said.

DiBiaso, 57, made his escape from the jail’s laundry room through a door that was not wired to an alarm and then climbed a 10-foot high fence that did not have barbed wire. The laundry is located in a older part of the facility that is no longer used to house inmates.

Wright said he had no information about the circumstances that led up to DiBiaso’s apprehension.

DiBiaso had been on the run for 40 hours before he was captured in Corning, in upstate New York, about 384 miles from Laconia.

Belknap County Attorney Andrew Livernois said his office was exploring the process needed to bring DiBiaso back to face charges. He said once DiBiaso is returned he will be charged with escape, and a separate charge of manufacturing implements for escape. He could face other charges as well, he said.

Wright said he did not know if DiBiaso would be facing any charges in New York.

DiBiaso had been held since mid-May in the county jail on a variety of charges, including criminal threatening, various weapons charges and probation violations.

In addition to charges in Belknap County he is also facing charges in Merrimack County.