By Anita Baffoni, WPRO News
PROVIDENCE— James Morales, the 35-year-old man who escaped the Wyatt Detention Facility on New Years Eve, was ordered detained on a felony escape charge.
In a federal court Friday, Morales went before Magistrate Judge Patricia Sullivan wearing an orange jumpsuit with the letters “PCCF” on the back and shackles around his ankles while politely answering questions. He did not make any other statements during the quick hearing.
According to the unsealed affidavit, Morales was accounted for by the correctional officer working the pod he escaped from at the last bed count at 10:30 p.m. Roughly a half hour later, superior officers were notified that Morales was not in the pod.
The U.S. Marshals office was notified of the escape at roughly 11:45 p.m.
“During the search, which included reviewing video surveillance, K-9 tracking and local law enforcement searches, it was learned that Morales was last seen at 4:26 p.m going outside to the recreation area alone,” the affidavit reads.
At 6:23 p.m, Morales was seen on video standing on a basketball hoop in the recreation area attached to the pod he was in. He was then seen on the roof, which he accessed through a hole created in the fence that surrounds the roof, according to the affidavit.
He was seen coming down the side of the building and running toward the train tracks at 6:47 pm.
“A Massachusetts State Police K-9 to track Morales revealed that Morales utilized the train tracks that lead from the Wyatt Detention Facility to Interstate 95,” it reads. “At this location, prison attire was located.”
On Thursday, Morales is believed to have tried to rob two banks in the Cambridge area, and then shortly after in Somerville, a uniformed Massachusetts State Trooper arrested Morales after a brief foot chase.
Morales was at the Wyatt Detention Facility on charges of stealing handguns and assault rifles from the Lincoln Stoddard Army Reserve Center in Worcester in 2015.
