Sutton was apprehended on February 5, 1934, and was sentenced to serve 25 to 50 years in the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for the machine gun robbery of the Corn Exchange Bank. On April 3, 1945, Sutton was one of 12 convicts who escaped the institution through a tunnel. The convicts broke through to the other side during daylight hours, and were spotted immediately by a passing police patrol. The 12 men were forced to quickly flee the scene, with all being quickly apprehended. Sutton was recaptured the same day by Philadelphia police officer Mark Kehoe.