FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Just five days after an inmate escaped from the Broward County Courthouse, a Broward Sheriff’s Office detention deputy misplaced his handcuff key — and later found it in a disconcerting place.
According to BSO, one of their detention deputies lost his handcuff key from his shirt pocket while assisting a wheelchair-bound inmate, Tuesday, at around 10:30 a.m.
Investigators said the key fell out. Another inmate, identified as Keenan Renois, found the key and put it in his pant pocket.
While the deputy was washing his hands he noticed that the key was missing and began to search inmates in the area but was not successful.
Officials said another inmate alerted deputies that Renois had the missing key. They later arrived to a courtroom where Renois had already been removed from the inmate holding area for his court hearing.
Once deputies arrived at courtroom 7750, they found the inmate sitting in the jury box. He was removed from the courtroom and questioned about the key. Without prompting, Renois reached into his pants, retrieved the missing handcuff key and handed it over to deputies.
“Apparently there was a moment during the morning docket when everything was stopped because either a bunch of corrections deputies or BSO deputies had to come in and clear the box because apparently one of the inmates may have had a handcuff key,” said attorney Bill Gelin. “They pretty much dealt with it pretty quickly, so it is unclear what happened, whether corrections alerted them to a problem or whether a bailiff was really on her toes and let everybody know that she saw somebody screwing around with their shackles.”
Renois, who is in jail for molestation, grand theft and burglary, was strip-searched, but nothing else was found.
According to the incident report, the inmate was later interviewed and he said he found the key on the floor and picked it up and was going to throw it under the cell door but did not know what the deputies would think, so he held on to it but wasn’t going to do anything with it.
“The keys are universal for the handcuffs,” said Gelin. “Transport of the prisoners and from the courthouse or any courthouse is the concern because that’s where you know, these types of problems happen.”
Many varieties of universal handcuff keys can be purchased online, and they’re not very expensive. At this point it is still unknown how Dayont’e Resiles, the murder suspect who escaped last Friday, may have gotten his hands on a key.
Four of Resiles accomplices are now in jail, while he remains on the run. A $20,000 reward is in place for Resiles.
If you have any information on Resiles’ whereabouts, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $3,000 reward.
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