Escaped inmate captured after jumping out of jail transport van

INDIANAPOLIS — A suspect considered to be a serious violent felon is back in police custody after reportedly jumping out the back of a transport van taking him to the Marion County Jail.

FOX59/CBS4 spoke with two people at a homeless encampment on the city’s near east side who said the escapee was hiding underneath a bridge right under Southeastern Avenue. He was reportedly captured around 3:55 p.m., but police did not immediately provide details.

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class="wp-block-heading">Escape

Sheriff’s deputies were called around 11:45 a.m. Tuesday to 695 Justice Way, the address for the Marion County Criminal Justice Campus, for a reported “jail break.” Indianapolis Metropolitan police were also called to help search for an “escaped inmate from the CJC.”

The inmate has since been identified as 35-year-old Diontae Green.

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office says Green jumped out of the back of a transport van en route to the CJC around 11:15 a.m. and fled on foot, running northbound. He was reportedly in the custody of Marion County Community Corrections when the escape occurred.

Capture

Police used drones, K9s and search parties to try and find Green. In total, over 50 law enforcement officers helped with the manhunt.

At one point, deputies were using K9s to search homeless encampments along Southeastern Avenue. This is where witnesses say Green was eventually found.

Officials confirmed Green was back in custody around 4 p.m. Around that same time, FOX59/CBS4 crews spoke with two people who said they saw Green’s capture occur underneath a bridge near a homeless encampment.

By 4:30 p.m., Green was again booked into the Marion County Jail and a police report had been filed.

Criminal history

Green was under arrest for an outstanding warrant issued Tuesday morning out of Marion County for Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Serious Violent Felon, a level 4 felony.

“Green was sentenced to Marion County Community Corrections Work Release,” a Community Corrections official said. “He was being transported for an active warrant that had been issued based on a Violation filed by Marion County Community Corrections. He was in trip gear at the time of the escape, meaning he was handcuffed by both his wrists and ankles.”

Court records show Green has an extensive criminal history in Marion County, having been booked into jail at least 18 times since 2006. He was first convicted of armed robbery and carjacking at the age of 16.

To read Green’s full rap sheet, click here.

Aftermath

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office issued a statement Tuesday afternoon confirming that Green was not in MCSO custody at the time of the escape.

“Community Corrections is an independent agency and is not overseen by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office or Sheriff Kerry Forestal,” the statement read. “Multiple agencies are assisting in attempting to locate Green.”

MCSO said that the Marion County Community Corrections Agency is the lead investigating body on this case and directed all questions to them. IMPD also later clarified that the man escaped from Community Corrections and was not in another agency’s custody.

“We are still reviewing the exact timeline of events. We know there was a short delay in the notification to the Sheriff,” Community Corrections officials said. “It appears the custody officer first contacted his chain of command, then the Sheriff’s Office was notified.”

“We were notified by Community Corrections via telephone at approximately 11:19-11:20 a.m. that one of their arrestees had escaped their custody,” MCSO said in a statement. “They informed us there was roughly a fifteen-minute time delay in notifying us of the escape.”

Indianapolis Public Schools confirmed that no buildings were put on lockdown during the search for the escapee.