Post by Scumhunter on Feb 18, 2015 9:41:02 GMT -5
(left: Braswell in 1975, right: Age-progressed to 51 (2009) PhotoCcredit: Suwanee Democrat)
Fugitive Profile as of February 18th, 2015 (based on AMW archive, FDLE Most Wanted website):
Full Name: Harry Dana Braswell
Nicknames: Moody
Aliases: Harry Dana Braswell Jr., Harry Dana Brasswell, Robert McQuery, Dana Brasswell, Dana Braswell, Troy Jackson, Robert Troy Jackson
Dates of Birth Used: 01/07/1958, 08/11/1959
Height: 6'0
Weight: 175-200 lbs.
Hair (Color, Description, Facial Hair): Brown. Braswell may have graying hair now or a receding hairline. The last photo law enforcement have dates to 1975
Eyes: Blue
Scars and Tattoos: "HDB" tattoo and a heart on his left arm (Braswell's initials), Cross with a chain on the back of his right hand
Last Seen: Sumter County , FL. Braswell was last seen prior to his escape in 1983 at the Sumter County Correctional Institution, near Bushnell, Florida.
TIPS: If you have any information regarding Braswell, you are encouraged to call FDLE Special Agent Fred Harden at (813) 878-7300 or Florida DOC Inspector Rita Hall toll-free 1-866-850-0355. Callers may also submit the tip information to Crime Stoppers toll-free by calling 1-866-845-TIPS (8477).”
Harry Braswell is an AMW web-exclusive cold case and Florida prison escapee. Below is the archived description of his case:
Elderly Man Robbed, Beaten, Murdered By Local Thugs
Harry Braswell was just a kid when he helped kill a man with three of his buddies, but Florida cops say by the age of 17, Braswell had already become a hardened criminal.
On February 19, 1975, Braswell and a few of his friends were hanging out in rural Suwanne County, Fla. One of his buddies knew an old man, and he managed to talk Braswell and the others into robbing the elderly man.
Cops say the four young men knocked on the man's door, and since he knew one of them, he let the boys inside.
The group of thugs forced the victim into his bed and tied him up with neckties. According to detectives, the suspects tried to kill the defenseless man by smothering him in an alcohol-soaked cloth, but when that didn't work, the elderly man was smothered with a pillow.
One investigator said Braswell and his buddies took the man's pulse to make sure he was dead before they left.
The four suspects took a small amount of cash from the man's wallet and his car, and left the murder scene.
"In law enforcement, there is no crime more serious than murder," says Florida Department of Law Enforcement Agent Fred Harden.
The four young men split up and abandoned the victim's car. Fortunately for the cops, all four were arrested within days and booked on murder charges.
Braswell was found at his home where he lived with his parents.
Braswell and his three co-defendants pleaded guilty, receiving prison sentences of 25 years to life for murdering an innocent, elderly man.
Filing Cabinet Plan Sends Two Cons To Freedom
After serving eight years of his life sentence, Braswell had enough, and he wanted out of prison.
Braswell and a fellow inmate had been plotting an escape for quite some time, and in 1983, they put their plan into motion.
On February 22, Braswell and his buddy loaded filing cabinets onto a truck at the prison's loading dock.
Once inside the truck, the two climbed into separate filing cabinets and hid there until the truck left. The unsuspecting driver had no idea that two inmates were hiding out with the rest of his cargo.
Once outside the prison gates, the two men jumped to their freedom somewhere in rural Sumter County, Fla.
Agent Fred Harden said that a few years later, authorities located Braswell's partner in crime, who was pulled over during a routine traffic stop in Oregon.
The officer felt that the man had a suspicious aura about him, and ran his fingerprints; it turned out he was the escapee, and he is now serving time in another Florida prison.
As for Braswell, investigators have little to go on with only a few clues and tips over the years. In 2008, FDLE and the Florida Department of Corrections opened up a new cold case initiative to focus on old unsolved escapes.
Their mission is to not let these fugitives slip through the cracks.
FDLE Agent Harden said escapees like Braswell have not been forgotten.
"Braswell's crime should not go unpunished," Harden told AMW. "He is a murderer. He took a man's life and destroyed a man's family."
Agent Harden said Braswell could be anywhere right now.
A key clue could be Braswell's tattoos -- if he hasn't had them removed. One is a cross and chain on the back of his right hand, and the other is his initials, "HDB," and a heart on his left arm.
He described Braswell as a "loser and a follower."
"Being a follower is what got him in trouble all those years ago," Agent Harden said.
Thoughts? The good news is at least there's a decent age-progressed photo and also remember, Braswell was only 17 years old at the time of the murder, so he is only in his 50's today. That in my opinion means he is still young enough to be alive to be caught (not that I'd complain if he was dead- but the older a fugitive gets, the more likely he can die and we never get closure if we don't find that out). It's time Braswell goes back to jail. I don't care what he's done since. You kill an elderly man, even at age 17, you deserve to suffer the consequences.
web.archive.org/web/20130716085319/http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=68673
manateecrime.blogspot.com/2009/12/12-days-of-fugitives-day-9-harry.html
pas.fdle.state.fl.us/pas/person/viewWantedPerson-222489.a
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