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| Escaped jail inmate captured in DeSoto County |
| By Sarasota Herald Tribune |
| Published: 05/10/2004 |
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Escaped prisoner Michael Cortez Edwards was caught in DeSoto County (Fla.) last Thursday night after being involved in another crime. Arcadia police got a report of a stolen vehicle at around 10 last night. Police later spotted the car. When they pulled it over, Edwards was inside. He was arrested and immediately transferred back to the Charlotte County Jail. Edwards, a convicted felon with a history of violent crimes and two previous escapes, wriggled to freedom through a bathroom ceiling at the Charlotte Regional Medical Center at about 10 p.m. last Wednesday. The two jail officers who were guarding Edwards were placed on paid leave last Thursday as authorities searched for the inmate. Edwards has escaped from custody twice before and attempted to escape two other times. He has been in the county jail since April 15 on charges arising from an attempted escape from the Charlotte Correctional Institution last July. Edwards had been brought to Charlotte Regional Medical Center last Tuesday after officers found him doubled over in his cell complaining of abdominal pains. A doctor admitted him and gave him pain medicine, the sheriff's spokesman, Bob Carpenter, said. Officers James Columbus and Elizabeth Christo were guarding the 36-year-old Tampa native inside Room 322 when Edwards walked into the bathroom, turned on the shower and locked the door, reports state. Authorities believe he pushed up a ceiling tile, wormed his way through a crawl space and left through the emergency room exit. Edwards was not handcuffed or shackled. Police dogs lost his scent about 400 feet from the hospital, in a relatively empty parking lot, the spokesman said. Sheriff's policy on hospital details states that prisoners will be shackled whenever possible, and that the assigned officer will not lose sight of the inmate unless relieved by another officer. Columbus and Christo have been placed on administrative leave with pay, a standard procedure, as the department reviews policies related to the escape and determines whether they were followed or need changing, sheriff's officials said. In addition, the agency is scrutinizing policies that govern the transportation of high-risk inmates and their movement inside hospitals. The officers were armed at the time of the escape. |
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