An accused murderer at the Pinellas County jail in Florida was able to escape the facility in a way that authorities are describing as “the perfect storm.”
According to officials, Cody Jondreau was able to scale a 14-foot wall in just 26 seconds while a guard wasn’t looking. In footage of the incident, the 25-year-old is seen using the corner door area to pull himself up the wall. Once he was at the top, he used his shirt to wrap around the razor wire that lined the wall and hoist himself to the other side.
Officers saw him hit the ground and start making his way to another fence that separated the jail grounds from the courthouse. They tried to get Jondreau off the fence but he was able to climb over this barrier as well.
“They tried to take him off the fence, they couldn’t get him off the fence. He was able to scale it. He fell onto the courthouse side got up and ran,” Pinellas County Sheriff, Bob Gualtieri said.
Eventually, deputies were able to chase Jondreau to a nearby business called Golf Car Systems and arrest him. In all, the whole ordeal only took ten minutes. Upon his re-arrest, Jondreau told the police that he didn’t really have a clear plan following the escape. He was just hoping to get someplace where he could use a phone to call an Uber.
Despite their quick apprehension of Jondreau, there are people in the community that feel unsafe following the news of his escape. But according to Gualtieri, Jondreau’s incident was a freak, once-in-a-lifetime moment that doesn’t speak to the security of the grounds.
“We’re a safe jail. We’ll look at everything and make sure,” he assured the public. “It was kind of a perfect storm.”
Jondreau is currently in jail awaiting trial for allegedly murdering his 9-week-old son.
