James Douglas Mitchell, missing after a van transporting inmates from a Minnesota prison was stolen, was found on Friday afternoon. (Minneapolis Police)
A Minnesota inmate stole a van transporting prisoners from St. Cloud prison to other facilities around the state on Friday morning, police said.
The incident occurred outside the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Lino Lakes.
The inmate took control of the vehicle, which was transporting nine people, around 11 a.m. Police later arrested five of those from the van in the Mounds View area and three others in north Minneapolis, a Department of Corrections spokeswoman told the Star Tribune.
One inmate, James Douglas Mitchell, 26, was initially unaccounted for but was later discovered after being spotted in a local park. He was arrested and transported to Hennepin County Medical Center for unknown injuries, according to CBS.
Mitchell was imprisoned on a felony assault charge.
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He had been charged in October 2016 with slamming a U.S. Marshall with a stolen vehicle.
He was hit with a first-degree assault charge for using deadly force against a peace officer. He was also charged for fleeing a police officer. Officers from multiple agencies were trying to execute a warrant for Mitchell’s arrest at the time, according to the complaint. Authorities were trying to arrest him for burglary and assault and three other cases, according to FOX 9.
Lino Lakes is the home of around 1,800 minimum and medium-security male prisoners.
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