'Manslaughter? You'd never know it' Louisiana fugitive caught in Ohio after 24 years

The fugitive's boss at a fire sprinkler business in Sebring had 'no clue.'
EAST LIVERPOOL -- Jack Hammond's 24-year life on the lam ended late Thursday night with a knock on the door of the modest rental home he shared with his wife along the Ohio River. It was the police, who said they knew who he really was and what he did one April night in Louisiana more than two decades ago.
He was Roy Edward Morgan then, a tough 34-year-old pipe fitter who lived in a flophouse on the outskirts of New Orleans. Drunk and angry over the custody of his kids, he drove his white Cadillac to a bar to confront the man he suspected was sleeping with his estranged wife. He entered, loaded one shell and fired. The man died later that night, April 16, 1978.
For the crime of passion, he got off easy in Louisiana with a 15-year manslaughter sentence. Within two years he was being given weekend furloughs. On April 5, 1981, he walked away and never came back.
He began his odyssey in Virginia, then Buffalo, N.Y.
He remarried.
He adopted the name Jack Hammond, and had the Social Security card and Ohio driver's license to prove it.
Coming to Ohio
He came to East Liverpool 12 years ago, and using his skills as an accomplished pipe fitter, millwright and welder, he found work at RWJ Corp., a fire sprinkler business in Sebring.
"He was a no-show, no-call at work today," Morgan's boss, Bob Dixon, said Friday. "Jack's a decent worker and nice guy. I like Jack; he's a good old boy, sad to say. He's worked here on and off since 1991."
Over the years, he left twice to do work for union contractors and then came back.
Dixon said he had "no clue" about Morgan's past and neither did anyone else at RWJ on South 12th Street.
Although Dixon said he'd talked to the FBI, he still asked a reporter for details, including the crime. "Manslaughter? You'd never know it. This is a man I would invite to my house, trust with my children."
Dixon described Morgan and his wife, Connie, as very religious.
"I'm kind of dumbfounded, just can't believe it," Dixon said. "He's paid a lot of dues and looks like has to pay more. I feel bad, but I'm sure the people in Louisiana feel better."
FBI Special Agent John Lichtefeld won't say who dropped a dime on Morgan, but they say an age-enhanced photo helped in the apprehension, as did a $2,500 reward.
Hammond's license said he was born in May 1943; Morgan was born in May 1944.
Dixon said Morgan used to drink a lot but stopped and has been in ill health. His real photo, taken from his driver's license, shows the years on the run have been tougher on him than the FBI artist imagined.
Members of the Mahoning Valley Violent Crimes Task Force, with assistance of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force and East Liverpool police, set up surveillance for several hours before entering the home. Morgan and his wife were the only ones there.
Morgan was taken to the Mahoning County jail to await extradition to Louisiana. He must serve the balance of his original sentence and face a new federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid confinement.
Lichtefeld said they're still piecing together where Morgan has been and what he's been doing. The agent said the fugitive avoided capture all these years by keeping out of trouble, maintaining a low profile and, with a Social Security number, probably paying his taxes.
Quiet, religious, trustworthy. Only one clue to a past life could be glimpsed by those who knew him through the years in East Liverpool. When he was arrested in Louisiana in 1978, police reports described a tattoo on his right forearm. "Devil," it said. It was still there Thursday.