Murder suspect caught after escape from Gadsden County Jail
A Quincy murder suspect is back in custody after he escaped from the Gadsden County Jail on Sunday evening.
The manhunt for Gregory Sapp Jr., 24, ended about 9:30 p.m. just three and a half hours after he pulled up a wire fence in the jail recreational yard and escaped underneath, said Gadsden County Sheriff's Office Maj. Robert Barkley.
Authorities focused their efforts in the area surrounding the Walmart store on Pat Thomas Parkway where Sapp was last seen. A K-9 team tracked him down about a half mile north of the Walmart, Barkley said. Sapp was taken back to jail.
The sheriff's office said Sapp was wearing an orange jail jumpsuit during the escape. Residents were told to lock their doors and stay inside while deputies searched for Sapp. GCSO instructed anyone who had contact with Sapp to immediately call 911 and not try to apprehend him.
Florida Highway Patrol, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Quincy Police Department, the Liberty County Sheriff's Office K-9 team and a Leon County Sheriff's Office helicopter all joined in the search.
Barkley described Sapp as "very violent."
"We're not taking our chances at all," Barkley said during the search. "We just want to make sure that we can catch him."
The sheriff's office alerted the family of his former live-in girlfriend, Keyonda Collier, 33, who Sapp is charged with killing. Barkley said GCSO deputies were sent to the Collier family's house.
On April 21, Collier's birthday, officers found her dead in a West Clark Street home in Quincy with hands and feet bound. Two children, a girl and a boy, were found bound and gagged inside as well. They survived.
Police say Sapp jumped out a back window and ran into the woods when they broke into the house. He was arrested about 15 minutes later and charged with first-degree murder, false imprisonment and resisting an officer.
About a month before his arrest, Sapp was released from a Florida prison where he served five years on counts of aggravated battery of a pregnant victim, domestic battery by strangulation and false imprisonment for a series of crimes involving his ex-wife.
Barkley said deputies also notified Sapp's ex-wife of his escape and deputies were sent to her home as well.
Sapp's ex-wife filed two civil injunctions in Leon County before the couple divorced in November. She said that Sapp had threatened her and her children and that she wanted protection when he was released from prison.
Update: 9:36 p.m.
Authorities have captured a murder suspect who escaped from the Gadsden County Jail this evening.
Gadsden County Sheriff's Office Maj. Robert Barkley said Gregory Sapp Jr., 24, was caught by K-9 dogs about a half mile north of the Walmart store on Pat Thomas Parkway in Quincy.
Barkley said Sapp is being transferred to jail.
Original story:
A Quincy man charged with killing his girlfriend is on the loose after he escaped from jail Sunday evening.
Gregory Sapp Jr., 24, was in the recreational yard of the Gadsden County Jail about 6 p.m. when he pulled up a wire fence from the bottom and escaped underneath, said GCSO Maj. Robert Barkley.
The sheriff's office says Sapp is wearing an orange jail jumpsuit and was last seen behind the Walmart store on Pat Thomas Parkway in Quincy. Authorities searching for Sapp near the Walmart, Barkley said.
Residents were told to lock their doors and stay inside while deputies searched for Sapp. Anyone who comes into contact with Sapp should call 911 immediately and not try to apprehend him.
Florida Highway Patrol, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Quincy Police Department, the Libery County Sheriff's Office K-9 team and a Leon County Sheriff's Office helicopter are assisting in the search.
Barkley described Sapp as "very violent."
"We're not taking our chances at all," he added. "We just want to make sure that we can catch him."
The sheriff's office alerted the family of his former live-in girlfriend, Keyonda Collier, 33, who Sapp is charged with killing. Barkley said GCSO deputies were sent to the Collier family's house.
On April 21, Collier's birthday, officers found her dead in a West Clark Street home in Quincy with hands and feet bound. Two children, a girl and a boy, were found bound and gagged inside as well. They survived.
Police say Sapp jumped out a back window and ran into the woods when they broke into the house. He was arrested about 15 minutes later and charged with first-degree murder, false imprisonment and resisting an officer.
About a month before his arrest, Sapp was released from a Florida prison where he served five years on counts of aggravated battery of a pregnant victim, domestic battery by strangulation and false imprisonment for a series of crimes involving his ex-wife.
Barkley said deputies also notified Sapp's ex-wife of his escape and deputies have been sent to her home as well.
Sapp's ex-wife filed two civil injunctions in Leon County before the couple divorced in November. She said that Sapp had threatened her and her children and that she wanted protection when he was released from prison.