Escaped Santa Clara Co. Inmate Found In Mississippi

A Santa Clara County Jail inmate who escaped in March was arrested in Mississippi, a sheriff’s spokesman said tonight.

Johnell Carter, 40, had escaped from Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose on March 6, Santa Clara County sheriff’s Sgt. James Jensen said. Jensen confirmed Carter was arrested in Mississippi and that the U.S. Marshals Service was involved, but did not have further details tonight.

On March 6, Carter had been transported from county jail to Valley Medical Center for a medical appointment when at 1:30 p.m. he fought off a sheriff’s deputy, injuring the deputy’s shoulder.

• Previous: Brother of Escaped Santa Clara Co. Jail Inmate Arrested, Accused Of Being Accessory

The inmate then ran away and was last seen near Moorpark Avenue and Thornton Way. About 45 deputies set up a search perimeter to find Carter with the help of some San Jose police officers and a California Highway Patrol helicopter, but they could not find him.

Carter had been held since March 2014 in county jail on five counts of child molestation prior to his escape, Jensen said.

His brother, 46-year-old Joseph Carter, was arrested late last month on suspicion of helping Johnell Carter remain free from custody, but not in the actual escape on March 6, deputies said.

Joseph Carter was taken into custody in Lodi and booked into Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of felony counts of being an accessory after the fact and assisting in an escape after the fact, Jensen said. Jensen said more details on Johnell Carter’s capture would be released during a news conference Wednesday morning.

--Bay City News

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