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Deputies with the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) – and agents of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) – arrested a Texas man in the Palmetto Lowcountry this week after he fled his trial for manslaughter in the Lone Star State more than a year ago.
Matthew John Flaskrud, 47, disappeared during his criminal trial in June 2023. The repeat offender had been on the run for more than a year and was living in South Carolina under a false name, according to CCSO deputies.
Flaskrud was on trial in Texas for killing 36-year-old Derrick Hintzman in a motorcycle accident while he was allegedly intoxicated with his blood alcohol content registering more than twice the legal limit.
Flaskrud attended the first two days of his trial, but subsequently removed his ankle monitor and fled the state in violation of the conditions of his $150,000 bond. He was found guilty of manslaughter in absentia and was facing between 25 and 40 years in a Texas prison.
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Press Release 9/09/2024: Arrest of a wanted fugitive. pic.twitter.com/KMNYOEWpeJ
— Colleton County Sheriff's Office (@ccsocares) September 9, 2024
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According to CCSO, Flaskrud is a registered sex offender after being convicted in Wisconsin for various sex crimes. Additionally, the Montgomery County Police Reporter noted his prior offenses included sexual assault and felony child abuse, among other charges.
Specifically, Flaskrud “raped a woman in front of her two children and in 2004 was convicted of third-degree sexual assault in Wisconsin,” according to a U.S. court of appeals ruling (.pdf).
Flaskrud was released on supervision following his prison sentence, but was “reimprisoned in April 2010 for violating (the) terms of (his) supervision by, among other things, punching his son and ignoring a restraining order,” the ruling continued.
“Flaskrud was again released on extended supervision in November 2010, but in July 2011 he was arrested and charged with battery after punching a man in a bar,” it added.
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Following this arrest, Flaskrud fled to Colorado without updating his sex-offender registration, the court noted.
Montgomery County prosecutors told the Police Reporter that Texas law permitted Flaskrud’s trial to continue in his absence, but that formal sentencing could only take place “if, or when (he) is recaptured or surrenders to authorities.”
Flaskrud was identified by SLED using a portable fingerprint reader after failing to identify himself and then providing authorities with a false name. He is currently being held at the Colleton County detention center as he awaits extradition to Texas.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Erin Parrott is a Greenville, S.C. native who graduated from J. L. Mann High School in 2021. She is currently a senior at the University of South Carolina majoring in broadcast journalism. Got feedback or a tip for Erin? Email her here.
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2 comments
You can run like hell but you can’t hide forever because sooner or later we are going to get your ass! The state of Texas has three hots and a cot waiting for you.
Crime is rampant in SC, women can’t walk across the street without being raped, and this is just more proof that criminals and insane people are pouring over our state border from Texas. How long before Texans are eating dogs on the streets of Charleston?