An inmate who escaped from the St. Louis City Justice Center early Sunday was captured about 14 hours later in south St. Louis County, ending a manhunt that prompted police to warn residents to lock their doors and remain alert.
Maurio Thomas, 29, was taken into custody Sunday afternoon near Tesson Ferry Road and Heritage Drive in Affton with help from St. Louis County police and regional and federal law enforcement agencies.
Police said Thomas was arrested without incident and was unarmed.
At an afternoon news conference, St. Louis Police Chief Robert Tracy credited the county’s drone program and license plate readers with helping investigators locate Thomas.
“So these things were used to get a very dangerous person off the street, and that’s why we have this technology,” Tracy said, according to St. Louis Public Radio.
Police believe someone helped Thomas reach south St. Louis County, although investigators have not determined whether anyone assisted in his escape from jail.
Thomas was being held without bond on two counts of first-degree burglary and two counts of first-degree sodomy or attempted sodomy. He is accused of breaking into an elderly woman’s home and sexually assaulting her on Aug. 16 and Oct. 9.
Police said Thomas escaped through the ceiling of a second-floor room at the downtown jail before leaving through an alley about 1:15 a.m.
Officers responded to the jail at 1:04 a.m. after staff reported an attempted escape. Jail employees initially believed Thomas was still in the ceiling, and police and firefighters worked to reach him.
But surveillance footage obtained about 3:15 a.m. showed that Thomas had already escaped the building roughly two hours earlier.
The city’s Department of Public Safety, which oversees the jail, said it is reviewing the circumstances of the escape.
Thomas was expected to be returned to the City Justice Center Sunday afternoon.