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Video: N.M. inmate fakes heart attack, steals transport van in escape bid

The inmate attacked a deputy when he pulled over to check on his condition, video footage reveals

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By Sarah Sinning

MCKINLEY COUNTY, N.M. — Three inmates are back in custody after one of the inmates faked a heart attack and then drove off in a McKinley County Sheriff’s Office transport van, KOB 4 reports.

Around 2 p.m. Monday, a McKinley County sheriff’s deputy picked up three inmates from the Bernalillo County Detention Center in Albuquerque to transport them to the jail in Gallup. While on route, however, 35-year-old Joshua Hall began complaining of difficulty breathing, which prompted the deputy to pull over to check on the inmate’s condition.

It was at that point, the released video footage shows, that Hall attacked the officer and after a brief scuffle, managed to get into the driver’s seat of the transport van and drive away with the other two inmates still locked in the back. Authorities say he had somehow managed to slip out of his handcuffs before the deputy removed him from the van.

After a roughly 30-mile pursuit on Interstate 40, state police and Cibola County deputies were able to pin the van in and take all three inmates back into custody uninjured.

Both the Bernalillo and Cibola County sheriff’s offices are investigating the incident.

NEXT: He’s faking it: How to spot inmates’ invented illnesses

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