LARRY E. STEAD

1944 – 2020

Larry E. Stead, 75, of St. Louis, Missouri passed away Saturday, January 4th, 2020 at the Mercy Hospital located in Washington, Missouri. During his 75 years on this earth, he really did have quite an effect on the world.

Mr. Stead was born in St. Louis, Missouri to Poly O’Neil on Sunday, December 17th, 1944. He grew up during a time when nearly everyone around him was struggling with poverty, and he quickly learned how to be self-sufficient. By the time he was in his late teens, Larry was living on his own, working a full-time job, and catching the city bus each day after work in order to attend trade school.

One-day, while working construction in the hot summer sun in St. Louis and directly experiencing the inequality’s that result from a lower socio-economic class, Larry decided there had to be a better way. That day, he quit his job and changed his degree plan at trade school from Automotive Repair to Locksmithing. He had decided that he wanted to be a career criminal. And just like that, a great American outlaw was born.

Larry quickly became an expert “safe-cracker” and entry artist. He soon began burglarizing not only the rich and large businesses, but banks as well, since “That’s where the money was.” In January of 1969, Larry was convicted in the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Missouri by a jury of his peers for “attempted entry into a federally insured savings and loan association with intent to commit larceny”, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a). At sentencing (although sentencing guidelines at the time only called for a few years of imprisonment) the federal judge told Larry that he was going to sentence him to 10 years in federal prison, since Larry refused to snitch and say who his accomplices were. The judge asked Larry if he had anything to say before sentencing, to which Larry responded: “I can do 10 years on my head.” The judge responded by sentencing him to 20 years, which was the maximum allowable sentence.

While in federal custody, Larry quickly became a “jailhouse lawyer”, and earned the nickname “Loophole”, due to his ability to identify and utilize various loopholes in the law to obtain relief on appeal for prisoners he was assisting. He became a member of the National Lawyers Guild and was the founding director for the Prisoners Legal Assistance Program at Marion Federal Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois. While in custody Larry submitted an article to the St. Louis University of Law Journal, which was later published. The article was entitled: “Enhanced Punishment and Conflicting Justice: A Jailhouse Lawyer’s Analysis of Various Approaches to United States v. Tucker Claims”. The article can be found at: 21 St. Louis U. L.J. 317 (1977-1978).

After Larry’s various appeals failed and his petitions for a writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court were denied, Larry became known as an “escape artist” as well, due to his multiple escapes from both state and federal custody. Larry was later released on parole, and resumed his criminal career, which was very successful despite multiple arrests, prosecutions, and some convictions. In 1996 a warrant was issued for Larry’s arrest, and he went “on the run”. At the time, Larry was one of “America’s 10 Most Wanted”, and managed to evade capture by the United State’s Marshal’s Service for over 6 years before being located in Keysport, Illinois, where he was living under an assumed identity.

Larry escaped from federal custody again in 2004 but was rearrested a few weeks later. Larry completed his sentence and was once again released from federal custody in 2007. Upon his release, Larry finally retired from his criminal career and joined a local union in St. Louis, Missouri, where he worked as a laborer for various construction firms.

In May of 2012, Larry suffered a double brain aneurism while receiving heart surgery. Larry was in a coma for over 4 months, during which time medical professionals claimed that he would never wake up. In September of 2012 Larry woke up from his coma. Medical professionals claimed that Larry would never be able to speak or have fine motor movements again. In May of 2013, Larry had to be restrained, since he was attempting to leave the hospital. Hospital staff had to modify the restraints, however, as Larry was able to overcome nearly every type of restraint they had utilized. Larry responded by saying that he was “hard-wired to escape”.

After leaving the hospital and various other long-term care facilities in the St. Louis area, Larry lived at the New Haven Care Center in New Haven, Missouri. A few days after Larry’s 75th birthday in December, 2019, Larry said: “I woke up a few days ago and I feel different. I feel like I’m getting really close to dying, but I’m okay with it. I feel at peace, and I’m ready to go. I’ve lived a hellova life, and I’ve had a lot of fun.”

Larry was admitted to the Mercy Hospital in Washington, Missouri on December 31st due to breathing complications and congestive heart failure. On January 4th, 2020, after saying his goodbyes to various friends and relatives, Larry made the decision to remove his oxygen. Prior to doing so, Larry stated: “I’m ready to go, and I’m excited to see what’s next”.

Shortly after friends and relatives departed the hospital, Larry passed away. At the time Larry passed away, the sky seemed to grow a little brighter, and the song that was playing on the radio (which was tuned to KSHE 94.7, a St. Louis station that Larry had listened to throughout his life) seemed to play a little louder. The song at the time was: “Ramble On” by Led Zeppelin.

Larry is preceded in death by many of his friends and relatives, including his sister, Caroline Faatz of St. Louis, Missouri. Larry is survived by his nephews, Brent, Shawn, and Troy Faatz of St. Louis, Missouri, his son, Zachary Reed of Hermann, Missouri, and his grandson, Levi Reed. As per Larry’s wishes, his body was donated to science. A memorial will be held for Larry at the New Haven Care Center in New Haven, Missouri, on February 22nd, 2020 at 3 PM.