Where is Glen Stewart Godwin now? 'America's Most Wanted' subject escaped prison twice 'Shawshank Redemption' style
It was just another usual hot day in the abandoned Eagle Mountain desert until nearby residents discovered a blown-up pickup truck with the remains of a human body inside it. The police were immediately notified on August 3, 1980, and it didn't take much time for them to determine the chilling crime and the identity of the victim. His name was Kim Robert LeValley, juggling a jet-setting career as a pilot along with his side hustle in drug dealing.
Murdering him and blowing his body up was the doing of Franklin Soto Jr who was joined by his friend and roommate Glen Godwin — the subject of the first episode of Season 26 of 'America's Most Wanted' about to premiere on Monday night. Soto was caught first and charged with first-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison in 1982. He then implicated Godwin who was charged with murder and robbery and sentenced to 26 years in prison in 1983.
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If you've seen the movie 'The Shawshank Redemption' or read Stephen King's 'Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption', this story will sound eerily similar. In 1987, Godwin escaped from Folsom State Prison which is a maximum-security prison where he was serving time for LeValley's murder. He was then arrested for drug-trafficking in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and was sent to a prison in Guadalajara after being convicted. In 1991, he murdered a member of the Mexican drug cartel in prison delaying his ongoing extradition process and he used this time to escape from prison yet again.
He was placed on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on December 7, 1996, nine years after his escape from the Califonia prison, replacing O'Neil Vassell on the list.
Who is Glen Godwin?
Born as Glen Stewart Godwin on June 26, 1958. In 1980 he was living in Palm Springs, California working a number of odd jobs including a tool salesman, a mechanic, and a construction worker with an impeccable record and no run-ins with the law. But it all changed when he and Soto planned to rob LeValley who was their peddler as well as a friend.
The duo lured LeValley to their condominium where Soto held him and Godwin took over and murdered him after which they tried to blow up his body using homemade explosives in a bid to disguise the murder. After being caught, Soto in testimony said that Godwin punched, kicked, choked, and stabbed LeValley more than thirty times with his butcher knife.
How did he escape from prison?
His escape from Folsom was believed to be aided by his wife Shelly Rose Godwin and his former cellmate Lorenz Karlic from Deuel Vocational Institute where he was placed before arriving at the California prison. A hacksaw amongst other tools was believed to have been smuggled inside the facility for Godwin and on June 5, 1987, he cut a hole in the fence wire and escaped into a storm drain that emptied into the American river where he used a raft that was placed either by his wife or Karlic to escape to freedom.
“We found in the tunnel where Godwin went out. There were white, spray-painted smiley faces with arrows indicating the direction to go out towards the river,” prison employee Joel Valencia told CBS Sacramento. “This is probably something [Godwin and his cellmate] cooked up when they were inside together with the agreement that, ‘Hey once you get out, come and get me out.”’
Where is Glen Godwin now?
There have been contrasting details that have emerged about Godwin's whereabouts. The FBI has a $20,000 reward for anyone with tips leading to his arrest and agents believe he is somewhere in Central or South America or in Mexico where he is believed to be involved in the illicit drug trade. The possibility of him hiding somewhere in America is not ruled out. He was removed from the FBI's Most Wanted List because he is no longer a "dangerous menace to society."
Possible aliases that he uses include Michael Carrera, Miguel Carrera, Miguel Carerra, Michael Carmen, Michael Stuwart Carrera, Mike Carrera, Stewart Michael Carrera, Glen Godwin, Glen S. Godwin, Nigel Lopez, Dennis H. McWilliams, and Dennis Harold McWilliams.
