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Lutz escape wasn't the first time, fugitive tells deputies

 
Jason Adams, 27, escaped from an inmate work detail in Lutz.
Jason Adams, 27, escaped from an inmate work detail in Lutz.
Published Sept. 18, 2014

LUTZ — Back in jail after his Sept. 8 escape and subsequent manhunt, deputies say Jason Wayne Adams made a startling admission to them: This wasn't his first time on the lam.

The 27-year-old state prison inmate first made news when he walked off a work crew in Lutz and was hunted overnight by scores of law enforcement officers. He ended his brief emancipation by riding a bicycle in broad daylight — and in sight of a Hillsborough County sheriff's deputy.

While he was in the Hillsborough County jail, according to a Pasco Sheriff's report, he told detectives this story:

He walked away from another Department of Corrections inmate labor site, monitored by DOC Officer Henry Blackwelder shortly before noon on Aug. 28, changed his clothes and went to a nearby convenience store to buy contraband items that he intended to sell once back at Sumter Correctional Institution.

Detectives checked surveillance video from Metro Food Mart, 24050 State Road 54, and spotted footage of Adams, dressed in a DOC-issued white T-shirt, shorts and work boots, buying Four Loko and other alcoholic beverages, cigarettes and chewing tobacco. He told investigators he returned to the work site within about eight minutes.

Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco said new details are being uncovered.

During the investigation, information contradicting Blackwelder's initial account was discovered, said DOC spokeswoman Jessica Cary. When he was asked to explain the conflicts between his report and evidence gathered by the Sheriff's Office, Blackwelder resigned.

Nocco suggested that Blackwelder may have had arrangements with inmates that allowed for Adams to leave his work detail, though he did not provide specifics.

"There is absolutely no doubt that (Blackwelder) did a horrible job out there," Nocco said in a news conference Wednesday. "Now, we're looking into a criminal investigation to make sure everybody's brought to justice who was involved to allow this to occur."

DOC Secretary Mike Crews released a statement Wednesday afternoon detailing the changes the department is making in light of the escape.

The statement mentions a refresher memo on work squad procedure sent to department wardens and also pledges to add more unannounced inspections of work squads.

Contact Alex Orlando at aorlando@tampabay.com or (727) 869-6247.