COVINGTON, LA (AP) -- A 45-year-old Detroit-area man who eluded authorities for about three months has pleaded guilty to simple escape in Louisiana. After Tony Massie of Plymouth, Mich., was sentenced to life in prison on Aug. 15, 2007, he mistakenly was allowed to keep his trusty status at the St. Tammany Parish Jail.

The Sunday following that sentencing, he helped prepare dinner and then used his trusty status to gain access to a fenced area outside the jail. He hid behind a trash bin, scaled the fence and escaped.

On Nov. 15, 2007, Massie was recaptured in Garden City, Mich. He pleaded guilty to the escape charge on Monday. State Judge Larry Green is scheduled to sentence Massie on March 3.

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