Footage shows a wild sequence of events that led to the arrest of an escaped inmate in Maryland – including how he was spotted by a journalist covering the story and cuffed moments later.
The incident occurred near the notorious Jessup state prison last week, where 38-year-old career criminal Randy Morris had been serving a ten-year bid for burglary.
The encounter
However, during a drive to a nearby medical facility where officers inexplicably left Morris unhandcuffed, the con managed to escape – by simply opening one of the van’s doors and walking out while it was stopped in traffic.
Morris’s exit, made around 8:30am August 17, spawned a massive search throughout the area, during which state police scanned several miles around Dorsey Run and Route 32, in search for the fugitive.
After more than eight hours, cops had still come up empty – that is until an intrepid photographer working the case spotted a man he believed to be Morris exiting some brush.
The lensman went on to confront the man, eventually leading to his capture.
‘I was in the car, editing the story for 5pm, and I just happened to look up from my laptop, and I saw Mr. Morris,’ recalled WBAL-TV’s James ‘Mac’ Finney, who had been on the scene with reporter Kate Amara since the morning.
‘He was walking across a grassy area that a few hours before was crawling with police,’ the photographer, who has worked at the station for the past 40 years, said.
Noticing the man – who had been wearing a white shirt instead of the characteristic 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 stepped out of his car, which he had parked in a shady parking garage to finish edits before the 5pm newscast, on what had been an exceedingly hot day.
Alerting Amara by knocking on her car, Finney started to follow the fugitive – who was still within shouting distance and close enough to film.
‘I said, “Are you Randy Morris?”‘ Finney remembered during a filmed interview with his outlet. ‘He spun around, looked at me and said, “No, I’m Randy James or James Morris,” something like that,’ he said.
Finney was professional enough to handle the situation
Not convinced, Finney remained calm, but quickly became concerned when he remembered he had left his camera in his car.
Trying not to alert the man he already knew to be Morris, he took out his phone to dial 9-1-1.
‘He didn’t try to evade me until he realized I was on the phone,’ Finney said, revealing his initial attempt at subtly failed, and sent the fugitive – whose priors range from domestic violence to resisting arrest – running.
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By this point, the journalist recalled, Amara had also begun following Morris, and was coming up on her coworker’s rear.
Morris, meanwhile, was moving quickly from the parking garage to some nearby railroad tracks.
As the con crossed the rail, Amara continued to follow, and whipped out her phone to record Morris’ progress.
As this was happening, a camera-less Finney continued to describe the situation to an emergency dispatcher, recounting Morris’s movements as he made them.
That footage reportedly shows a spooked Morris running toward a nearby construction site, where the two journalists said several workers, also recognizing the man, shouted, too.
Within moments, dozens of cops were on the scene – and minutes later, Morris was filmed by being walked out by cops of some nearby woods, his head hung in apparent defeat.
State Police went on to hail the pair’s heroics – while also providing a decidedly vague statement describing how they believed the con escaped.
What police say on the matter
‘For whatever reason, when the van stopped, the inmate decided to unlock the door and escape,’ Maryland State Police spokesman Ron Snyder said, not revealing how Morris managed to unlock a door meant to confine him and four other high-risk inmates.
The Department of Corrections declined to comment on whether securing an inmate during transport is part of their established protocol, citing a still-ongoing investigation into the con’s escape.
‘It’s very early in the investigation,’ Snyder said, with his force more than a week later having yet to provide a concrete account on how Morris exited the vehicle.
Meanwhile, Finney is still being praised by his coworkers for his resourcefulness, and said he was met with a round of applause upon returning to the newsroom Friday to dutifully file his story.
Amara said of her coworker: ‘This is the value of being experienced in our profession.
‘He’s done this for so long, and he has this really calm demeanor and confidence. … I’m really proud of him.’
A consummate professional, Finney said he was just focused on making his editors’ deadline.
