Saatio enters plea agreement; sentenced to prison
SANTA ROSA COUNTY, FLORIDA — An escaped prisoner from the Upper Peninsula will spend the next 15 years behind bars for escaping from custody earlier this year.
According to the Santa Rosa County Clerk’s Office, John Saatio, 35, was sentenced Tuesday morning to 15 years in prison for escape, third degree and five years for possession of a concealed handcuff key. Saatio pleaded guilty to both of those charges as part of a plea agreement.
He escaped custody from the Houghton County Sheriff’s Office in June of 2015. Saatio was eventually captured in Costa Rica a year later.
He then escaped custody from a detention center in Costa Rica before being re-captured. Saatio then escaped custody from authorities in Florida in July while he was en route back to Michigan.
When authorities in Florida captured him, they found two makeshift handcuff keys in his socks.