Fugitive dentist will take on Coleman in primary

Bob von Sternberg

Last update: April 3, 2008 - 5:15 PM

A fugitive dentist and perennial political candidate will take on Sen. Norm Coleman in the September 9 Republican primary.

Jack Shepard, 61, has been on the run for nearly a quarter century, practicing dentistry most of that time from Rome, Italy, where he has conducted three previous runs for Congress and one for the U.S. Senate.

Shepard never showed up for a court hearing Dec. 7, 1982, on a first-degree arson charge for a fire at his Lake Street dental office in Minneapolis.

At the time, he was on probation after being convicted of a prescription drug charge and a fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct charge. He served eight months at Stillwater state prison.

Two years ago, while running for the GOP nomination in the Fourth Congressional District, he failed to convince the state Board of Pardons to wipe his record clean. He then continued to run his candidacy from Italy.

He placed second in the primary, receiving just under 5,000 votes.

More recently, he fared poorly in New Hampshire's Republican presidential primary, getting a total of 28 votes.