Jail inmate Phillip Bradford is reportedly on the run after evading custody on the afternoon of Wednesday, June 22, as per the police.
According to authorities, 45-year-old Bradford was able to overpower a deputy who was assigned the task of admitting Bradford to the UAB hospital in Birmingham. The accused fled the area in a vacant ambulance, as stated by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office in a press release.
Bradford is said to have escaped around 4 PM on Wednesday, June 22. Further reports state that he later abandoned the ambulance. Birmingham police found the abandoned ambulance 20 miles away from the hospital in Robinwood. Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies, including K-9 Deputies, have all joined the hunt to find Phillip Bradford.
Phillip Bradford has a long list of charges to his name
I could swear I follow Phillip Shane Bradford on Twitter 🧐 https://t.co/x6se0We9YQ
Bradford has been charged with robbery, obstruction of government operations, possession of drug paraphernalia, and attempting to elude and escape law enforcement. Police are still focusing all their efforts on finding Phillip Bradford and putting him behind bars.
Authorities in Cullman, Alabama, told local reporters that a man who appeared to be Phillip Bradford stole a truck from a Walmart parking lot on Thursday, June 23, morning. A woman with dirty blonde hair was also with Bradford at the time of the theft.
Since his escape, police presence has intensified around 1st Ave and 10th Street. Police searched the Robinwood-Tarrant area for over two hours on the night of June 22. A resident of the area said she had mixed feelings about an inmate being on the loose:
“I don’t really know how to react. It’s not settling in yet. So I’m soaking it all in as we speak right now.”
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office has asked people with information about Phillip Bradford and his possible whereabouts to call Crime Stoppers or 911. They further warned people against approaching him.
Repeated cases of inmates on the run
Earlier this month, authorities tried to track down three inmates who escaped from the Barry County Jail in southwest Missouri. The accused were identified as Lance Stephens, Matthew Crawford, and Christopher Blevins.
The trio were all acquaintances and had been booked on various drug, theft and weapons charges. The men escaped by digging holes in the ceilings of their cells.
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There was yet another case where inmate Gonzalo Lopez was killed in a police shootout after being on the run for three weeks. Lopez reportedly murdered a family of five in their vacation home while loose.
Meanwhile, a jail inmate named Casey White was captured by law enforcement after a 11-day search. He was on the run with Vicky White, a Lauderdale County assistant director of corrections who helped Casey escape.
