Garland County escapee arrested in Florida

Garland County sheriff's office Sgt. Joel Ware, left, speaks at a news conference Friday about the arrests of escapee Derrick Estell and Tamara Upshaw, who's accused of assisting Estell.
Garland County sheriff's office Sgt. Joel Ware, left, speaks at a news conference Friday about the arrests of escapee Derrick Estell and Tamara Upshaw, who's accused of assisting Estell.

A man considered armed, dangerous and "extremely aggressive" after his escape from the Garland County jail has been arrested in Florida, authorities said Friday.

Derrick Estell, 33, is in custody at the Santa Rosa County jail after being arrested late Thursday night.

The Garland County sheriff's office said in a statement that investigators pinpointed Estell's location in Santa Rosa County, Fla., and then alerted authorities there.

Santa Rosa sheriff's office spokesman Deputy Rich Aloy said investigators first located a person in the area who knew Estell and believed the escapee may be in an abandoned house at Route 182 and Chumuckla Highway in Jay, Fla.

A team including U.S. Marshals and SWAT officers surrounded the structure and Estell and Tamara Upshaw surrendered without incident a short time later.

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Derrick Estell is seen in this booking photo from Santa Rosa County, Fla.

Police said it wasn't immediately known how the extradition process would unfold.

Aloy said Estell's history means authorities in Florida will be extra careful whenever he needs to be transported.

"We're taking precautions to make sure any transporting of this individual is extremely monitored based on the circumstances," he said.

At a news conference in Hot Springs, Garland County authorities declined to specify how they tracked Estell to Florida, but they said they had credible information he had also been in Dallas County, Mo., and had been in Florida about a week. He wasn't armed and didn't have a vehicle at the abandoned house.

Sgt. Joel Ware applauded investigators for work that he said continued nonstop, even on weekends, after Estell's July 28 escape.

"It's hard to tell our excitement today," he said. "But if you had been here last night, you would have seen jumping up and down, shaking hands and patting each other on the back. We're pretty excited about this. To get a guy like Derrick off the street ... is pretty rewarding."

Estell's escape from the jail by climbing through a small service window made headlines across the world after his dash was captured on video, which is viewable at left or in a larger version here.

Authorities warned he was dangerous and likely armed after the escape, which they labeled an "elaborate plan" that had another inmate distracting deputies while Estell ran to a waiting escape car that was purportedly driven by Upshaw.

The other inmate who distracted officers was later charged with assisting, as was Estell's mother.

Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

Security video of Garland County jail inmate Derrick Estell's escape.

Inmate escapes from Garland County jail

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