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The U.S. Marshals Service is searching for fugitive Andrew Kristovich, who escaped from an Oregon prison and is wanted on new charges of rape, assault and strangulation.
Kristovich, 38, was initially arrested in connection to 2018 cartel-linked gun and drug charges, along with 30 other defendants. Last year, he was sentenced to 60 months, or five years, in prison with credit for time served, as well as four years of supervised release, federal records show.
Oregon authorities say the fugitive escaped a correction facility in Yamhill County on April 25 before traveling to an apparent ex-girlfriend’s residence in Clark County, where she says he assaulted and raped her before fleeing with her debit card, cellphone and car, according to FOX 13 Seattle.
“He has completely changed, and I don’t know who he is anymore. He’s somebody very scary,” the ex-girlfriend, whom FOX 13 identified as Shauna, told the outlet in an interview. Kristovich was reportedly able to contact Shauna via a smuggled cell phone before his escape.
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Shauna explained that Kristovich managed to convince her to pick him up at the Federal Correctional Institution in Sheridan, Oregon, after making a series of threats. Her children were in the backseat when he jumped out of some bushes near the prison and into Shauna’s car, she said.
The fugitive proceeded to assault Shauna in her home after they arrived. The victim told FOX 13 that the “only reason” she is alive is because neighbors heard the attack and “he panicked” before fleeing the house. He also apparently threatened to kill Shauna if she did not hand over her car keys.
The fugitive is considered armed and dangerous. He is described as a Kristovich’s 5 ft. 8 in., 200-pound White male with brown hair and hazel eyes.
The Federal Correctional Institution in Sheridan, Oregon, is described as a “medium security federal correctional institution with an adjacent minimum security satellite camp and a detention center” on the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) website.
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One Sheridan man expressed concern, an interview with KOIN, that community members were not notified of the fugitive’s escape until recently.
“We should’ve known what happened. Somebody broke out of prison and did all this stuff, raped somebody,” he told the outlet. “Yes, definitely. Definitely need to make it more known around here to everybody.”
Federal Correctional Institution in Sheridan, Oregon
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The man added that the correctional facility needs “to hire more help and make sure people don’t just walk away like that.”
The Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office told KOIN that they learned about Kristovich’s escape on April 25 around 9 a.m. PT and that they “do not do media releases or public notifications on incidents in which we are not the primary agency.”
Authorities are asking with information about Kristovich’s whereabouts to contact the United States Marshals Service at (206) 370-8550.
