LAKE CITY, Fla. — Columbia County Sheriff’s Office deputies ran down an inmate Thursday who had escaped a work detail at an industrial park a day earlier.
Jacob D. Wermann, 41, is back in custody after police said they received a tip on Thursday that led them to the escaped inmate, who ran into a wooded area near NW Ernest Green Glen in Lake City.
On Wednesday, Wermann was working at a business off SE Highway 100 in Lake City when he cut off his ankle monitor, stole a co-worker’s bike, and pedaled away from his inmate work detail, police said.
Less than 20 hours later, police were called to NW Ernest Green Glen off of U.S. Highway 441 North by someone who thought they had spotted the escaped prisoner.
Upon arrival, police were told he had just run into a wooded area. A perimeter was set up and Wermann was caught on NW Jamie Glen near a residential area after a brief foot chase.
Wermann had been housed at the Bridges of Lake City work release center after an April conviction for fleeing and eluding law enforcement.
He was sentenced to 22 months of confinement.
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