ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office recently released body camera video of law enforcement finding and detaining four juvenile inmates who escaped on Monday.
Read: SJSO: Four juvenile felony offenders who escaped have been located, taken into custody
Monday morning, SJSO received 911 calls from the Deep Creek Youth Academy. The sheriff’s office describes the academy as “a secure detention center operated by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice which houses male juvenile offenders who have been committed by court order due to crimes they have committed in the state.”
According to the 911 calls, several inmates had escaped. According to SJSO, the four juveniles were sent to the detention center based on numerous offenses, including “Possession of a Firearm on School Property; Battery on a School Employee; Felony Battery; Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer; Grand Theft Auto; Armed Burglary to a Dwelling; Robbery with a Weapon; Aggravated Battery with a Deadly Weapon; Aggravated Battery Causing Bodily Harm/Disability; and Battery.”
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SJSO said two of the inmates attacked a guard with a sock containing a shower head and a makeshift shank/knife, overpowered him, and then choked him unconscious. The inmates stole the guard’s keys and portable communications radio.
Three other inmates joined the original two to begin their escape, but one didn’t make it out of the detention center.
According to SJSO, the guard will recover from his injuries.
Due to the juveniles’ original charges and the attack on the guard, a large amount of law enforcement resources were used to search for the boys, including a K9.
K9 Bane led deputies to a car approximately two miles from the facility where all four inmates were found inside.
Body camera video released by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office shows the dog leading Deputy Robert Neigebauer through the woods and finding the car. “Sheriff’s Office K9. Anybody in here, announce yourself or get bit,” Deputy Neigebauer says in the video.
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The body camera video shows at least one other deputy helping Neigebauer open the front passenger door. Neigebauer then demands people to get out of the car multiple times.
Video then shows K9 Bane jump into the car and a boy starts screaming. Neigebauer orders the boy to crawl out of the car before physically removing the K9 from the car. Bane drags a teenager out with him. The deputy shouts that there are two other people in the car.
Two other deputies are seen helping drag the other inmates out of the car and detaining them.
The final seconds of the video show multiple law enforcement officers at the scene. “We got four secured. One K9 engagement,” Neigebauer announces.
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After being detained, SJSO said the inmates were transported to the St. Johns County Jail.
They were charged with the following crimes:
- Aggravated battery with a deadly weapon
- Robbery with a weapon
- False imprisonment
- Battery by strangulation
- Aggravated assault with an intent to commit a felony
- Unlawful use of a two-way communications device
- Escape from a residential commitment facility
“This was a first-class operation to protect our citizens conducted by numerous SJSO personnel from several divisions and units and I am proud to be their Sheriff. Thank you to our law enforcement partners from surrounding agencies who immediately responded to assist our staff,” Sheriff Rob Harwick said in a social media post. “I have been in contact with the Secretary of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, and we will work together to ensure this does not happen again. The message is clear: we will not tolerate this in our community, and we will respond in force to protect our citizens. These inmates picked the wrong county.”
On the morning of October 14, 2024, SJSO received 911 calls from the Deep Creek Youth Academy in Hastings regarding numerous juvenile inmates who had escaped from the facility. Deep Creek Youth Academy is a secure detention center operated by the Florida Department of Juvenile… pic.twitter.com/WBJlIRLdPi
— St. Johns County Sheriff's Office (@TeamSJSO) October 17, 2024
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