Family of murder victim questions suspect's escape

BREWTON, Ala. (WALA) - Sheriff Grover Smith said it should never have happened, but he's got to figure out how it did.

Thirty-year-old Cedric Floyd walked out of Escambia County Detention Center around 10 a.m. Saturday. Floyd, a capital murder suspect, was back behind bars by Sunday, but there are a lot of questions surrounding the escape. According to the sheriff, the investigation seeking answers could lead to more arrests.

"I don't want to point any fingers until I know all the facts. There's no question about it that we didn't do our job," Smith said.

It's been nearly two years since Tina Jones was shot and killed inside her home in Atmore in 2011. Her family is still struggling to come to grips with the crime.

"I'm kind of, you know, tired. I'm hurting. I'm always thinking about my sister, always," Michael Dennis said.

Dennis was shocked to find out the man accused of murdering his sister had escaped from jail Saturday.

"I said what, how he get out? You know he ain't suppose to be out, you know, and that hurts. And I really want to know how he got out of Brewton because he supposed to be on lockdown," Dennis said.

Smith has requested two independent agencies to assist in an internal investigation.

"Actually, the first one to say anything about it was an inmate beating on the window and attracted attention. He'd managed to get out the side door, apparently without anyone seeing him. And how that happened is the reason we're having the internal investigation," he said.

According to Smith, Floyd should never have been in the part of the jail where he escaped.

"What it means is, he's segregated from population. He's kept separately and, in those cells, he can not get out of the cell but one hour a day. And my orders were that he was not to leave that cell unless he was in leg irons and belly chains, because he is an escape risk," Smith explained.

I asked Smith if some of the jail staff could face disciplinary action because of the escape.

"That or criminal charges. If anybody here assisted in that escape, they're going to face the full measure of the law," Smith said.

Some of the victim's family is upset that Floyd was in the county jail instead of prison. But Smith said Floyd had already completed his previous prison sentence, which means he can't be sent back to prison until he's convicted on a new charge.  

The sheriff said there have been other inmates to escape the detention center in the past, but he said those were trustees who had access to the outside. He said this is the first time a capital murder suspect has escaped.

"This is the first one I consider to be a bonafide escape where, if things worked as they should, it's just not supposed to be possible," he said.

Tracking dogs were used in the search for Floyd.

"We had every dog team here from 100 miles helping us track the scent where he left.  We're pretty sure he was picked up by a car near the courthouse, and transported to Pensacola,"  Smith said.

Smith would not say what led investigators to Pensacola, Fla. where Floyd was arrested Sunday afternoon.

"Lets just say it was solid, cold hard police work; the same thing that always solves any crime. My chief deputy and I, and several of my officers got no sleep Saturday night," Smith said.

Escambia County, Florida deputies made the arrest Sunday.

"Sheriff Morgan and his officers were the ones that actually took him down. They had their undercover officers nearby and they spotted him walking to a location that we expected him to appear at, and they went ahead and took him down then," he explained.

Sheriff Smith said Floyd will not be brought back to Brewton.  He'll be taken to the Baldwin County jail in Bay Minette to await trial, which is scheduled for January.