MADISON COUNTY — A man who for decades lived under a false identity in Michigan has pleaded guilty to identity theft — and attempted murder.

Robert Mason III , 54, on Tuesday was sentenced to 10 years in prison for firing shots that struck a man who was at an Alton residence.

Authorities say Mason fled Illinois in 1994, while facing the attempted murder charge, and stole the identity of his then-girlfriend’s brother, Dorynell Thompson.

“Robert has kids with my sister — that’s how I knew Robert,” the real Dorynell Thompson told the Post-Dispatch in an interview last year. “We never had problems or anything."

Mason lived under Thompson’s name for 30 years in Michigan, where authorities say he promptly embarked on a new life of crime. More than half of his time in Michigan was spent in f

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