VIERA, Fla. – A Brevard County judge has found a Cocoa man guilty of violating his probation by trying to break into the county jail.
Authorities say 25-year-old Sylvester Jiles, who was convicted Thursday, tried to climb a 12-foot fence at the Brevard County Detention Center in August. He was caught and hospitalized with severe cuts from the barbed wire. He had been released a week earlier after accepting a plea deal on a manslaughter charge.
Jiles had begged jail officials to take him back into custody because he feared retaliation from family members of his victim. The officials said they couldn't take him in and told him to file a police report.
Jiles faces up to 15 years in prison for trespassing on jail property and resisting an officer at his Jan. 25 sentencing.
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