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Authorities find "inmate" who walked away from Bilirakis event

 
Nicholas Moore, 23, walked away from an event at the Verizon Center in New Port Richey on Saturday.
Nicholas Moore, 23, walked away from an event at the Verizon Center in New Port Richey on Saturday.
Published June 23, 2018

The 23-year-old man who authorities said walked away from a New Port Richey political event while under supervision of a treatment center on Saturday has been located.

The Pasco County Sheriff's Office described Nicholas Moore, 23, as both an "inmate" and a "member" of the Agency for Community Treatment Service's facility in Tarpon Springs.

That facility, the Keystone Residential Treatment Program, "serves as an alternative to incarceration for both the Pinellas County and Hillsborough County jails," according to the agency's website.

Moore walked away from the Verizon Event Center sometime Saturday morning, according to the Sheriff's Office. U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R- Palm Harbor, was holding a veterans' resources fair at the center at that time, according to his Facebook page.

Moore and four other residents from the facility went to the event with a chaperone, deputies said. It is unclear why they attended the event, or how Moore got away. Employees at the Keystone Residential Treatment Program could not be reached for comment Saturday.

Deputies said that when the supervisor realized Moore was missing, he returned to the facility rather than calling 911, giving Moore a head-start of several hours.

Later, Moore took a taxi from Pasco County to Nebraska Avenue in Hillsborough County, deputies said. They did not specify where on Nebraska Avenue he went.

Pinellas County court records show Moore was charged with aggravated assault and aggravated battery with a weapon in April of 2017. The case appears to be open.

The Pasco County Sheriff's Office reported at 6:47 p.m. that Moore was found in Hillsborough County. The agency released no other details.