TOKYO (TR) – A 45-year-old man convicted of attempted blackmail traveled to multiple prefectures after fleeing custody earlier this month, police said, reports Fuji News Network (Oct. 8).
In a joint operation, Tokyo High Public Prosecutor’s Office and Tokyo Metropolitan Police apprehended Shin Takahashi at a hotel in Nagano City, Nagano Prefecture at just before 2:00 p.m. on October 5.
Four days before, Takahashi failed to return to the Tachikawa Detention House in Tachikawa City, Tokyo from a visit to a hospital in Kodaira City for treatment, the prosecutor’s office said previously.
The office later confirmed that Takahashi never made it to the hospital. In the latest development, police said that Takahashi and one of his guarantors, 29-year-old Emiri Kidokoro, went instead to the nearest railway station by taxi.
After traveling by train to JR Tokyo Station, they boarded the Tokaido Shinkansen and traveled to Kyoto City. The pair then stayed in Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture. They then moved through Fukui Prefecture and Kanazawa City, Ishiakwa Prefecture before arriving in Nagano.
The office was able to contact Takahashi’s guarantor, a male owner of an izakaya restaurant. However, Kidokoro remained out of contact.
Upon the apprehension of Takahashi, Kidokoro was accused of harboring a fugitive. She is believed to have prepared a suitcase containing various items for Takahashi prior to his escape.
In August, the Tachikawa branch of the Tokyo District Court handed Takahashi an 18-month prison term for attempted blackmail. He is currently appealing that ruling.
