This is a regular series that profiles America's most wanted criminals.
Glen Stewart Godwin was living life in the fast lane back in 1980. The handsome, 23-year-old tool salesman was a regular at the discos in Palm Springs, Calif. He was dabbling in drugs and building quite a reputation as a ladies man.
Few could have suspected that this charmer would turn into a vicious killer and international escape artist.
"When you meet him, he comes across as a very nice guy, easy-going, good personality," says FBI Special Agent Michael Rayfield.
Desperate for money, Godwin and his roommate, Frank Soto, cooked up a scheme to rob a drug runner and pilot named Kim Robert LeValley.
They lured LeValley to their condo and pinned him down. Godwin grabbed a butcher knife and stabbed LeValley 26 times.
Godwin and Soto loaded the body into a truck and set off for the desert.
Using hundreds of pounds of homemade explosives strapped to the body, Godwin tried to blow up the evidence.
It didn't work. Another try and another bomb propelled the torso across the desert.
Police identified the body charged Godwin with first-degree murder. Soto turned state's evidence, stating in court: “I believe the most dangerous man I have ever met is sitting in the courtroom."
In March 1981, Godwin was sentenced to 25 years to life for LeValley's murder.
He tried to escape while serving time at Deuel Vocational Institute in California, and he was moved to Folsom State Prison, a maximum-security prison.
It took only five months for Godwin to figure a way out of Folsom. Shelly Rose Godwin, his wife whom he met behind bars, visited often. Authorities believe she and former prison buddy Lorenz Karlic helped plan yet another prison escape.
In 1987, Godwin charmed his way into an area of the prison where he knew a hacksaw and other tools that had been smuggled into the prison were waiting for him. He cut a hole through fence wire and went into a storm drain that emptied into the American River. Godwin dropped through a manhole and crawled 1,000 feet through the pitch black drain to freedom.
Investigators say an accomplice -- possibly his wife or Karlic -- left a raft that Godwin used to float down the river, following painted arrows on rocks that directed him where to go.
Godwin fled to Mexico, where he apparently began a new life as a drug dealer. It seemed to be a less than successful career move, because he soon landed in prison again. This time he was at Puente Grande in Guadalajara, Mexico, serving a 7-year sentence for drug trafficking.
"Once we figured out it was him, we wanted him back," FBI Agent Rayfield said.
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While American authorities worked to get him extradited, Godwin allegedly killed a member of a Mexican drug cartel in prison. The new murder allegation delayed his extradition proceedings long enough for Godwin to break out of prison again.
So far he's managed to stay one step ahead of the law.
Godwin was last seen in 1991 in Mexico. He is considered extremely armed and dangerous. He is a convicted murderer who has maneuvered his way out of a maximum-security prison in California and has evaded authorities in Mexico and the United States for more than two decades. For this he was put on the FBI's Most Wanted List in 1996.
Click here for Godwin's FBI Most Wanted poster.
Godwin's aliases include Michael Carrera, Miguel Carrera, Michael Carmen, Glen S. Godwin, Dennis H. McWilliams and Dennis Harold McWilliams.
He weighs 200 pounds, stands 6 fee tall and likely has salt and pepper hair, with green eyes, and medium to dark complexion. He is familiar with construction and mechanics. He speaks Spanish fluently.
He likes to drink champagne, hang out in bars and collects guns. He is likely traveling in Central and South America and Mexico.
He could be married or have a girlfriend, since he is usually in a relationship. He is concerned about his appearance and works out in gyms often.
The FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
Click here to find the phone number to your local FBI office.
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