It was a night just like any other for Iowa Chester Police Officer Mike Haberberger as he made his routine patrols around the city. But little did he know that about 3 a.m. he would come face to face with an escaped killer. Martin Shane Moon, 34, was on the loose after breaking out of a maximum security prison in Iowa.
Chester Police Chief Donal McKinney said Haberberger was patrolling along the city perimeter, on Fern Valley Road off Illinois 3 near Chester Mental Health Center, when he spotted a vehicle about 25 to 30 feet away from the roadway, parked with the driver's side door along a fence near the old farm building foundation.
The vehicle was actually parked on Menard Correctional Center property and the officer knew it shouldn't be there. He didn't know what was inside though, McKinney said.
Haberberger approached the passenger side of the vehicle and shone his flashlight inside, tapping on the window and indicating that the person sleeping inside should lower the window. Finally, the sleeping man awoke but instead of producing the requested identification and talking to the officer, he quickly started the car and threw it into reverse. But the suspect's escape was foiled when a rear tire of the car dropped off the concrete floor and was dangling above the open foundation. The man inside quickly fled on foot, McKinney said.
Haberberger called for backup and officer Danny Walls responded, They summoned Steeleville canine officer Brad Wolf, who was on duty at the time along with the Randolph County Sheriff's Department.
Within just 20 minutes the police dog tracked the fugitive to his perch in a tree in the nearby woods, McKinney said. The man was captured without incident and identified himself as Joel Deruyter of Aurora.
But, McKinney said in fact, officers quickly determined the man was indeed Moon, one of two convicts who escaped last week from the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison.
McKinney said Moon didn't seem particularly bright - he was driving a stolen vehicle taken from Farris, Ill., just a few miles away from the Iowa prison, and was wearing a watch bearing his real name and prison identification number on the back. He also was parked on Illinois prison property.
Moon is serving a life sentence for murder. He and Robert Joseph Legendre, 27, are accused of using a rope and grappling hook to scale a prison wall and escaping the maximum security prison.
The escape of the men on work detail has drawn national attention for a number of reasons and was cited by local prison union officials because some of the nearby guard towers were apparently unmanned at the time of the escape.
According to the Iowa Department of Corrections Web site, Moon was imprisoned in July 2000 on a Clarke County charge of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life. A Fort Madison Daily Democrat story said Moon was convicted of the 1990 shooting death of his roommate, Kevin Dickson. Dickson reportedly was shot during a drug deal and dumped into a well, where the body remained for nine years before found.
The story said Legendre, who remains at large, was serving a life sentence for attempted murder, kidnapping and a weapons offense in connection with a crime spree in which he and three friends allegedly took a road trip from Arizona to Las Vegas but when they ran out of money, took the limousine driver to a secluded area where Legendre attempted to strangle the driver and hit him in the head with a hammer.
Legendre is considered very dangerous. The escape of Moon and Legendre even garnered the attention of "America's Most Wanted" television show; their story was featured on the show's Web site. Schools near the prison were closed down.
Moon was initially arrested in Randolph County on charges of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer and driving without a valid driver's license. But Randolph County State's Attorney Randy Rodewald said Moon waived extradition and was being returned to Iowa to serve the rest of his life sentence. Moon could face additional charges including escape in Iowa, too. Rodewald said no charges will be formally filed in Randolph County since the charges would be misdemeanors and Moon is already serving a life sentence.
McKinney said authorities aren't positive but believe that Moon was merely passing through Randolph County and stopping for a nap when apprehended.
"More than likely he had friends or family in the Tennessee area and he was enroute to them," McKinney said. He offered ample praise for the work of the officers who apprehended Moon without injury to anyone.
"It was absolutely perfect," McKinney said. "The whole key to all this is to try to keep your cool in a situation like this and follow procedures. They did exactly what they should have done."
McKinney said officers properly called in the canine quickly and waited so there was a clear trail the dog could quickly follow leading to Moon's capture.