By Canadian Press

Quebec inmate who spent 51 months on lam pleads guilty to escaping federal prison

Mar 21, 2024 | 9:45 AM

MONTREAL — A Quebec man who spent 51 months on the lam from a federal prison before he was arrested last year has pleaded guilty to escaping custody.

Denis Bégin was sentenced to 18 months in prison to be served concurrently with a life sentence that he is already serving for second-degree murder. 

Court documents in an unrelated case from Correctional Service Canada identify Bégin as a suspect in the Old Montreal fire last year that killed seven people, but police have never publicly identified him as a suspect and no charges have been laid in that case.

Bégin, 63, pleaded guilty today in a brief appearance by video conference before Quebec court Judge Marc-André Dagenais in Laval, Que., north of Montreal.

Dagenais agreed to a joint recommendation from the defence and Crown.

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Bégin was considered one of Quebec’s most wanted criminals before he was caught.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press