MACON, Ga. – An Oregon fugitive serving a prison sentence for sexual abuse and sodomy and who escaped a prison work detail in 1994 was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service, Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force (USMS SERFTF) in Macon on Tuesday.
Steven Craig Johnson aka “William Cox,” 70, was taken into custody by the USMS SERFTF on July 16, 2024, at approximately 2:00 p.m. at an apartment complex located at 2087 Vineville Ave. in Macon. Johnson had been a resident there and living under the alias of William Cox since 2011. Johnson was wanted on an Oregon arrest warrant for escape.
On Nov. 29, 1994, Johnson fled from a prison work detail at the Mill Creek Correctional Facility (MCCF) in Salem. Johnson was serving a state prison sentence for sexual abuse and sodomy.
MCCF was a minimum-security prison located five miles southeast of Salem on 2,089 acres. The facility was unfenced and housed approximately 290 adults in custody who were within four years of release. MCCF opened in 1929 as the Farm Annex of the Oregon State Penitentiary. The prison closed June 30, 2021, by order of Governor Kate Brown.
The USMS adopted this case in 2015 at the request of the Oregon Department of Corrections. Multiple leads were developed and pursued by the USMS. In 2024, new investigative technology employed by the Diplomatic Security Service developed new leads in the case.
Further investigation revealed that Johnson had stolen the identity of a child that died in Texas in January 1962. Johnson was able to obtain a copy of the child’s birth certificate and he was eventually able to obtain a Social Security number in Texas in 1995. Johnson first obtained a Georgia Driver’s License in 1998.
Critical assistance in this case was provided by the Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force (PNVOTF); the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force (NY/NJ RFTF); the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Atlanta Resident Office; the Oregon Department of Corrections; the USMS-Middle District of Georgia; and the Bibb County, Georgia, Sheriff’s Office.