HOMESTEAD, FLA. (WSVN) - Authorities have taken an inmate into custody, Thursday morning, after he escaped a day earlier.
According to Homestead Police, officers found 40-year-old escapee Marv Hubbard in Cutler Bay, sitting at a gas station, at around 7 a.m., near U.S. 1 and Southwest 200th Street. The search for Hubbard was a joint operation between Miami-Dade Police, Homestead Police and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
“They were able to locate him at that gas station and take him in with no incident,” said Homestead Detective Fernando Morales.
Morales added that investigators are speaking with Hubbard and that the escapee will be charged with escaping.
The scene at the gas station has since been cleared.
On Wednesday, Hubbard was working a community detail, police said, outside the Dade Correctional Institution, a minimum-security facility, when he took off, just after 1 p.m. Officers began searching for the escapee in the area of Southwest 312th Street and 147th Avenue.
The search triggered a lockdown at the following Homestead schools:
- The Charter School At Waterstone
- Keys Gate Charter School
- Keys Gate Charter High School
- Everglades Preparatory School
7Skyforce HD captured parents running to The Charter School at Waterstone when they were finally allowed to pick up their children.
After a controlled release of students and teachers at the schools, the lockdowns were lifted by 5 p.m.
7Skyforce HD showed officers briefly concentrated canvassing efforts on a warehouse, located about a mile south of Southwest 312th Street, while a U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter circled the area. Just before 4 p.m., a K-9 unit was seen going door to door in a residential area. The dogs were later seen in the woods surrounding the gated communities.
Police released surveillance pictures of the suspect hopping a fence and walking after his escape.
Hubbard is serving a 20-year sentence for burglary. “He’s a convicted felon, was sentenced to 20 years in the Florida Department of Corrections,” said Homestead Police Detective Fernando Morales. “For some unknown reason, he decided to flee, so we don’t know what he might be capable of.”
Police said they received several calls from neighbors who claimed they may have seen Hubbard.
7News cameras captured police officers stopping and searching cars, including trunks, along Southwest 147th Avenue, just before 5 p.m. Other officers were seen escorting neighbors to their homes.
Residents returning to their homes at the Isles at Oasis gated community were forced to leave their cars at the entrance and walk the rest of the way.
The police presence made for some tense moments for people who live and work in the area.
“I had to have my trunk checked twice on the way out,” said area resident Brad McNeal, “and they were letting people back in, but by the time I came back from my appointment, no, they weren’t letting anybody in.”
“Some of them have got young kids still in their house from getting off from school,” said area resident Sam Snow. “It’s a little bit of a hassle, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to stay safe.”
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