Inmate captured after escaping from work crew in Tampa

TAMPA — An inmate who escaped Thursday was found later that night, according to Hillsborough County Jail records.

Jerrod "Hot Rod" Williams, 21, went missing just before 5 p.m. from a Department of Transportation project near Leslie Road, between Tampa and Brandon. He was arrested at 11:35 p.m. at the intersection of U.S 301 N and Interstate 4, according to jail records.

He was in town from the Hardee Work Camp, said Gretl Pressinger, a spokeswoman for the corrections department.

Williams was sentenced to seven years in prison in June 2009 for burglary and theft. He has served one year of his sentence.

Four canine units as well as Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputies searched for him Thursday night.

Pressinger said it is not uncommon for a minimum-security inmate like Williams to be assigned to a work camp.