Officers beat bounty hunter Duane “Dog” Chapman to close the case on one of the escaped “Shawshank” murderers!
On June 26, federal agents cornered and killed escapee Richard Matt – one day after Duane and his wife, Beth, joined the headline-making hunt, The National ENQUIRER learned.
“Matt has been shot – he’s down,” confirmed Lenny DePaul, a former U.S. Marshal, adding the shooting occurred in Malone, N.Y.
Matt was armed with a shotgun at the time he was killed, according to sources.
At press time, police were closing in on fellow inmate David Sweat, who joined Matt on the elaborate June 6 breakout from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y.
The escape sparked one of the largest manhunts in N.Y. history, with the pair’s escape through a steam pipe compared to the Hollywood blockbuster “The Shawshank Redemption.”
Matt had shot at a driver in a camper near Malone, a federal law enforcement source said.
The driver called 911. Officers arrived, and Matt was shot dead in a gun battle.
At the time, Duane had confirmed that he and his wife were at Dannemora to assist police in the manhunt for Matt, 48, and 34-year-old Sweat.
“In this case,” a law enforcement insider told The ENQUIRER: “Dog didn’t get his bone!”