UPDATE (Wednesday, April 30): Tallahatchie County Sheriff Jimmy Fly said Antoine Haywood, who had been a fugitive since mid-morning Tuesday, “turned himself in to the Charleston jail without any problems" shortly before 8 Wednesday night after being on the lam for about 33 hours.
Original post from Tuesday, April 29:
Officials are searching for a man who escaped the Tallahatchie County Jail in Charleston Tuesday morning.
Tallahatchie County Sheriff Jimmy Fly notified The Sun-Sentinel shortly after noon that Antoine Haywood, 25, was barefooted when he fled a holding room, moved through an interior door near the dispatcher's office and lobby, and ran out the north door of the jail at about 10:40 a.m.
Fly said cameras outside the building showed Haywood fleeing north on North Panola Street between the old Dailey lot and Square Drugs and then appearing to turn left, westward, onto Gay Street, where cameras lost sight of him.
"He's definitely not armed, and I wouldn't consider him dangerous," said Fly. "However, he did run out of the jail, so I would still be cautious, not knowing what's going through his mind."
Fly said officials canvassed the area but were unable to locate him. They later received a report that Haywood possibly had been spotted leaving the city in what was believed to be a maroon Nissan Maxima traveling on Highway 32 toward Oakland.
Haywood, who is described as a Black male, 5-9, 150 pounds, was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt and light-colored shorts at the time of his escape, Fly noted.
If anyone sees him, they are asked to call the Charleston jail at 662-647-5511 but do not approach him.
Haywood, who was arrested Feb. 5 on charges of felony malicious mischief and simple assault, made $15,000 bond on March 8 but was brought back to the jail Tuesday morning by agents with the bonding company, said Fly.
"For whatever reason, the bonding company was surrendering his bond," the sheriff noted. "They no longer wanted to be responsible for him."
Fly said Haywood was placed in a temporary holding area of the jail.
"He was in a holding room. He hadn't been placed in a cell yet," the sheriff added.
The door between the dispatcher's office and front lobby, which is normally locked, "wasn't secured back like it should have been," Fly said.
The Charleston Police Department has assisted the Tallahatchie County Sheriff's Office with the search, he noted.
This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the escapee's first name.
