CLINTON, N.C. --- Eighty-one-year-old Willie Parker has had trouble getting around since suffering a stroke, and his right arm curls inward as correctional officers help him move about the Sampson County jail.

But he has made the most of his time there since his arrest last week, 43 years after walking away from a prison work detail in Maryland.

"They call me 'Pops,' " Mr. Parker said of his fellow inmates, adding that he advises the younger men to "leave other people's stuff alone."

Mr. Parker was finally tracked down as part of Maryland's effort to clear more than 80 outstanding warrants.

Mr. Parker's lawyer, Andrew Jackson, said Wednesday that he hopes to get him released on bail.

Mr. Parker served about 10 years of a 40-year sentence for robbery with a deadly weapon, decided that was enough and left the Eastern Correctional Camp in Maryland. He was arrested Feb. 20 in Clinton, where he was receiving part-time home health care services.