By Matt Wiley
A convict is back in custody, after escaping a work detail near Wesley Chapel and having been missing for about a day. Much still is unknown about how the prisoner escaped, but a Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) officer resigned following the incident.
According to FDC, officer Henry Blackwelder resigned on September 10, a day after a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office deputy recaptured escaped convict Jason Wayne Adams near Brandon. The deputy spotted Adams riding a bike near the intersection of Harris Parkway Pl. and Broadway Ave. and asked him for identification. Adams provided his actual name and was taken back into custody.
According to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO), Adams, 27, of Brevard County, escaped from a Sumter County Correctional Institute (where he is an inmate) work detail that was working along S.R. 54 near Oak Grove Blvd. in Lutz (about a mile west of S.R. 56) on September 8.
FDC reports that Adams walked away from the work detail, after stepping into the woods to go to the bathroom. Blackwelder was supervising the work detail that was helping to clean state roads in the area for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), but Adams didn’t return.
“The primary mission of (FDC) is public safety,” said FDC secretary Mike Crews in an official statement. “By working closely with Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco, we were able to quickly identify a discrepancy between what was reported to us by Officer Blackwelder and what actually took place. As part of our commitment to transparency and accountability, we immediately took action. (Blackwelder) was called in to explain the difference between the report he submitted and the evidence gathered by (PCSO). When confronted with this information, Officer Blackwelder submitted his resignation.”
PCSO discovered through an interview with Adams that he actually escaped twice, once previously on August 28, and was able to make his way west to the Metro Food Mart on S.R. 54, where he purchased cartons of cigarettes, alcoholic beverages and chewing tobacco with cash that he said he intended to sneak back into the Sumter County Correctional Facility. PCSO reports that surveillance video from the store shows Adams altering his clothing before entering the store at 11:42 a.m. He stayed for eight minutes, before leaving and rejoining his work group undetected.
Crews said that since the incident, a memo has been sent to all FDC wardens about proper procedures and protocol for work details. “What is clear from our review is that protocol was not followed and that is unacceptable,” Crews said.
PCSO reports that the agency first received the call about the escaped prisoner from FDC around 4:25 p.m. on Sept. 8.
Sheriff Nocco said during a Sept. 9 press conference that there was a possibility that someone may have helped Adams.
“I want to make it clear, if you are aiding and abetting, you will be charged,” Nocco said, adding that Adams was considered to be armed and dangerous when he escaped.
At that time, it was believed that Adams walked away from the work detail around 3:10 p.m., Nocco said, and headed west to the Florida Medical Clinic (FMC) facility on S.R. 54, where he then was taken by a Yellow Cab into the City of Tampa around 4 p.m. Because of the ongoing investigation, the location where he was dropped off could not be disclosed, Nocco said. Adams reportedly was smoking cigarettes in front of the facility while he waited. However, this info, which was provided by a FMC employee, was not received until about 8:30 p.m. when the employee realized that Adams was a fugitive. Yellow Cab told PCSO that Adams paid his fare with cash.
PCSO launched an overnight manhunt to locate Adams on Sept. 8, using helicopters, deputies and FDC bloodhounds. However, all that was found was Adams’ blue-and-white-striped prison uniform and name tag. Adams was serving the first of a six-year term for burglary and grand theft in Brevard County, but that sentence could change following his escape attempt. The investigation is ongoing.
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