A wildlife can be seen on images sequence of events leading up to the capture of an escaped convict in Maryland – including how he was spotted by a journalist who covered the story and handcuffed moments later.
The incident took place last week near the notorious Jessup State Penitentiary, where 38-year-old career criminal Randy Morris had served a 10-year sentence for burglary.
However, during a drive to a nearby medical facility where officers inexplicably left Morris unhandcuffed, the con artist managed to escape – simply opening one of the van’s doors and walking out as it was in traffic.
Morris’s exit, which was made around 8:30 a.m. on August 17, sparked a full-scale search throughout the area, with state police scouring several miles around Dorsey Run and Route 32, looking for the fugitive.
After more than eight hours, the police had still come back empty-handed — until an intrepid photographer working the case spotted a man he thought was Morris emerging from a bush. The lensman then confronted the man, eventually leading to his capture.
Footage shows a wild sequence of events leading up to the arrest of 38-year-old Randy Morris, an escaped inmate from Maryland’s Jessup State Penitentiary – including how he was spotted by a journalist who covered the story and handcuffed moments later
While reporter Kate Amara was on the scene to document the scammer’s escape, she managed to catch him on film, after a colleague recognized him from a booking photo. They contacted 911 and within an hour the fugitive was arrested
“I was in the car editing the story at 5 p.m., and I happened to look up from my laptop and I saw Mr. Morris,” recalled WBAL TVs James “Mac” Finney, who had been on the scene since morning with reporter Kate Amara.
“He was walking through a lawn that was full of police only hours ago,” said the photographer, who has worked at the station for the past 40 years.
Noticing that the man – who was wearing a white shirt instead of the signature orange jumpsuit many were looking for – was dirty as if he had been in hiding, Finney would eventually recognize him from a booking photo he saw earlier in the day.
Finney said he then got out of his car, which he had parked in a shaded parking garage, to finish editing before the 5 p.m. newscast on what had been an unusually hot day.
Finney alerted Amara by knocking on her car and began following the fugitive – who was still within shouting distance and close enough to film.
“I said, ‘Are you Randy Morris?'” Finney recalled during a filmed interview with his outlet.
“He turned around, looked at me and said, ‘No, I’m Randy James or James Morris,’ something like that,” he said.
Unconvinced, Finney remained calm, but soon became concerned when he remembered that he had left his camera in his car. In an effort not to alert the man he already knew was Morris, he picked up his phone to dial 9-1-1.
“He didn’t try to avoid me until he realized I was on the phone,” said Finney, who revealed his first attempt failed subtly, sending the fugitive — whose past ranges from domestic violence to resisting arrest — on the run .
At that point, the journalist recalled, Amara had also begun to follow Morris, trailing behind her colleague. Morris, meanwhile, quickly walked from the parking garage to a nearby railroad track.
Veteran WBAL-TV photographer Mac Finney was the one who noticed Morris shortly after he left a nearby thicket. The lensman then confronted him, eventually leading to his capture
Morris – a career criminal with a laundry list of priors – had served a ten-year bid for burglary and managed to walk out of a transport van on his way to a medical appointment. Police still don’t know how he got out of the vehicle and revealed he was not restrained
The pair followed Morris as he ran down this street, toward a structure visible in the distance. Within minutes, screams and whistles helped guide the first responding officer to the fugitive.
As the con artist crossed the railing, Amara continued to follow her and took out her phone to record Morris’s progress.
As this was happening, a cameraless Finney continued to describe the situation to an aid worker, recounting Morris’ movements as he made them.
That footage reportedly shows a startled Morris running to a nearby construction site, where the two journalists said several workers, who also recognized the man, were also screaming.
Within moments, dozens of officers were on the scene – and minutes later, Morris was filmed being walked out by officers from a nearby forest, head hanging in apparent despair.
State police went on to praise the pair’s exploits, while also issuing a decidedly vague statement detailing how they believed the con man had escaped.
“For whatever reason, when the van stopped, the inmate decided to unlock the door and escape,” said Maryland State Police spokesman Ron Snyder, not disclosing how Morris managed to unlock a door that was meant to lock him and four other high-risk inmates.
The Department of Corrections declined to comment on whether securing a prisoner in transit is part of their established protocol, citing an ongoing investigation into the con man’s escape.
“It’s very early days in the investigation,” Snyder said, with his troops yet to provide a concrete account of how Morris exited the vehicle more than a week later.
“We have multiple agencies working with officials (Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services) to investigate exactly what happened to see exactly what happened this morning, how he managed to escape, and at this point our concern is to locate him and take him to jail. taken back into custody.”
Meanwhile, Finney continues to be lauded by his peers for his resourcefulness, and said he received a round of applause when he returned to the newsroom on Friday to dutifully file his story.
Amara added about her colleague: “This is the value of experience in our profession.”
“He’s been doing this for so long and he has a very calm demeanor and confidence. … I’m really proud of him.’
Finney, a consummate professional, said he just focused on meeting the deadline for his editors.
He recalled telling the emergency room before hanging up the fateful 911 call, “I respectfully said to the 911 operator, ‘I have to go file my story.’