SUMTER COUNTY, Florida (WFTS) — According to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO), deputies from Sumter and Citrus counties worked together Sunday night to capture an escaped inmate who authorities said fled from a jail kitchen work detail, stole an e-bike and a vehicle, and tried to hide in a pond.
Deputies said Joseph Brown, 39, removed the top of his green and white striped inmate uniform about 50 yards east of the jail kitchens before escaping.
A search involving K-9 units, deputies, drones, and helicopters from both counties began quickly, with Brown later spotted on a doorbell camera taking a white e-bike from a home on North Jasper Street.
Deputies determined Brown also stole a vehicle and was in the area of County Road 675. He ran into a pond in an attempt to hide but was found and exited without problems.
Officials said new security measures are being implemented to prevent similar escapes in the future.
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