PELAATCHIE, Miss. – One of two inmates who escaped in the Florida Panhandle while being transported has been captured in Mississippi.
Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey tells multiple news outlets 28-year-old James Thomas Banks was arrested without incident Wednesday.
Authorities say Banks and 30-year-old Michael Andrew Rotunno escaped from a prison van Monday that had stopped at the Walton County Jail in Florida. The van was taking the inmates to Jackson, Minnesota.
Authorities said Rotunno was spotted checking into a hotel in Longview, Texas, Tuesday night.
Investigators believe Rotunno is traveling in a stolen black pickup.
Rotunno is charged with larceny in a building and delivering and manufacturing narcotics. Banks faces charges of unarmed robbery and escaping from jail.
Authorities say Rotunno was being transported from Longview, Texas. Banks was on his way from Orange County, California.
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This story has been corrected to say that Banks is 28 years old.
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Information from: WAPT-TV, http://www.wapt.com
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