By Phil Davis
The Capital
JESSUP, Md. — Police are searching for a prisoner who escaped custody in Jessup Friday while awaiting psychiatric evaluation in connection with shooting into law enforcement officers’ homes.
Howard County police said David M. Watson II, 28, escaped custody and ran into the woods while he was in the area of Dorsey Run Road and Patuxent Range Road.
Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis said Watson was being transported to the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center by two correctional officers from the Wicomico County Detention Center, which does not fall under the purview of the sheriff’s office.
Watson had been charged with shooting into the homes of three law enforcement officers in Wicomico County, but was found incompetent to stand trial and ordered to be committed to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in 2015, The Daily Times wrote. George Kaloroumakis, the detention center’s warden, told The Capital that officers were complying with a state order to take Watson to the hospital Friday morning for a psychiatric evaluation.
After arriving at the hospital, Watson escaped custody as he was being moved from the vehicle into the hospital, said Kaloroumakis. He could not immediately provide more details.
In an unrelated case, Watson was sentenced to 106 years in prison in connection with a shooting at a Delaware law enforcement officer’s home, The Daily Times reported.
Police are searching the area with a police helicopter and K9 units and anyone who sees someone matching Watson’s description is asked to call 9-1-1 immediately.
The Perkins hospital center is part of a state prison complex that crosses the Howard and Prince George’s County lines.
Copyright 2017 The Capital, Annapolis, Md.