LAS VEGAS -- A man who was on the lam for more than 30 years was one of three fugitives arrested by Metro police on Thursday.

Police said in 1975, Charles D. Free, 61, escaped a jail in Florida where he was being held on an armed robbery conviction.

Police said Free, who was originally named Jack Hazen, changed his name and Social Security number and wound up in Las Vegas, where he got married, worked in home construction and raised a family.

Metro police said they found Free on a tip from a Tallahassee cold case detective. When they arrested Free at his west valley home, officials said he did not express surprise.

"(Hazen) came to Vegas 23 to 25 years ago (and) married under the name Free ... His family had no idea -- didn't know his prior name, didn't know his history, just knew him as a hardworking, tax-paying citizen here in the valley," Sgt. Dave Stansbury said.

"(It's) a total shock to me. I had no idea. Who does?" Free family friend Patrick Atherley said.

Atherley said that for 15 years, he lived across the street from the man he believed to be Charles Free, a clean-cut, quiet good guy who worked for Pratt Construction and was the first person to offer a hand when he moved in.

"(I) never had the slightest indication he was hiding something. (He was) always straightforward and upfront, and that's the way he was," Atherley said.

Atherley said recently, Free was diagnosed with cancer and multiple sclerosis. With seven years left on his sentence, and an additional charge of escape, the last years of Hazen's life could be spent in prison.

Two other fugitives were arrested Thursday, Metro police said.

Officials said Joshua Labs and David Alcaire were wanted in Riverside, Calif.. on suspicion of a bank robbery.

The two men were arrested at a casino; police said officers found $3,300 and two handguns in their hotel room.