Man who fled from hospital, removed ankle monitor caught in South Boston

BOSTON — Anthony Clark, who absconded from Laconia after removing his court-ordered ankle monitoring device on Sunday, was captured on Friday morning by federal and local police who caught up with him in South Boston.

Clark, 41, who had been awaiting trial on several domestic violence-related charges, was released from Belknap County jail last month and transferred to personal recognizance bail, on the condition he wear a monitoring device attached to his ankle, so he could seek medical care at Concord Hospital-Laconia.

A press release from the U.S. Marshals Service on Friday reported that Marshals as well as Massachusetts State Police and the Boston Police Department found Clark in an apartment on Logan Way.

According to the release, Clark didn’t immediately turn himself over to authorities when they entered the apartment, but when he was found in a back bedroom, he finally surrendered.

Clark was expected to be returned to Belknap County to face his prior charges of strangulation, simple assault, stalking and witness tampering.

“I’m very pleased with the Marshals office to apprehend him as quickly as they did,” said Michelle Wetherbee, superintendent of Belknap County Jail. “They got him back into custody and he didn’t commit any new crimes that we’re aware of, that’s a positive. I look forward to having him back here in Belknap County.

Clark is believed to have removed his monitoring device sometime on Sunday morning. Local authorities weren’t made aware of his alleged escape until around 10 p.m. that night, when a member of the public found the device on High Street. Wetherbee said she had been in contact with the company that provides the devices to the county, and was told the reason it didn’t automatically alert upon removal had to do with human error.

“They said that it was a failure on their part,” Wetherbee said. “They accepted responsibility for their error on their end.”

Clark’s apprehension represented a collaborative effort between the USMS, state, county and municipal agencies in both New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and the public, which provided useful information.

“I commend the excellent collaborative work performed by everyone involved in the swift apprehension of a violent man,” Bill Hart, U.S. Marshal, said in the press release.