A Mississippi inmate has been caught after mere days on the run, in what was his third prison escape in 20 years.
Michael Floyd Wilson, known as 'Pretty Boy Floyd', was apprehended around 130 miles from the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility where he was being held.
After escaping on Saturday, February 12, the suspect's car — which he had stolen — ran out of petrol and he was subsequently found and apprehended in Harrison County on Tuesday, February 15.
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Wilson made his escape after climbing over the prison's razor-wire fence, CBS News reports.
However, the 51-year-old's disappearance was allegedly not reported until a day later, when one of his gloves was found stuck in the fence.
Department of Corrections spokesperson Leo Honeycutt stated, 'We dropped the ball because we didn't know he had escaped.'
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Wilson sustained an injury during his breakout, and subsequently claimed to be an FBI agent involved in a motorbike accent when he reached Peal, a suburb of Jackson. A passer-by called him an ambulance.
After giving a fake name at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Wilson received treatment and was released later that day, but was taken back after being spotted bleeding in an auto parts store in Richland, where police officers called him another ambulance.
Honeycutt explained, 'He must be really, really convincing. I mean, he should be an actor.'
Before the Department of Corrections had even been made aware of his escape, Wilson was released from hospital for the second time on Sunday morning.
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In a news release, Sheriff Troy Peterson stated that a woman in a neighbouring county had reported her vehicle as stolen.
Burl Cain, the Corrections Commissioner, detailed, 'He was riding in a car with a lady that had picked him up to give him a ride and she realised he was probably going to hijack her car because he kept looking at the gas gauge.'
Wilson reportedly ran out of a fuel following a police chase.
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Cain stated, 'We want to assure the public that we won't make those mistakes again because we have taken corrective action. We're shocked, upset and appalled that he got away.'
As a result of three successful escapes from custody, Wilson is now being moved to a prison where 'he'll have a hard time getting away', Cain noted.
Wilson was being held on a burglary charge when he first escaped prison, fleeing a county jail in 2001.
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In 2014, he beat two people to death, and was convicted of their murders and later sentenced to two life sentences in September 2015.
However, while serving his time in South Mississippi Correctional Institution in Leakesville in July 2018, Wilson escaped and managed to flee 70 miles to Ocean Springs, where he was apprehended two days later.
Similarly to his third escape, Wilson suffered injuries that he claimed to have been as a result of a motorcycle accident. He also alleged that his wife was in labour in order to get a lift to hospital from a newspaper publisher who was unaware of an inmate having escaped.
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Topics: US News