Officials say the crew of a State Patrol helicopter spotted James Douglas Mitchell in the Minneapolis Park, which led to his apprehension along I-35W late this afternoon.

A spokesperson for the Minnesota Department of Corrections says Mitchell was among the nine prison inmates in a transport van that was hijacked at the Lino Lakes State Prison around 11 a.m. The transport van departed from the St. Cloud State Prison earlier today and was scheduled to make several stops at Department of Corrections facilities when it was overtaken at the medium security Lino Lakes prison.

Within a half hour of the escape, five of the inmates were apprehended in the Mounds View area and three more were captured around 12 noon in North Minneapolis, where the transport van was also recovered.

Mitchell, the final escapee to be apprehended, was sentenced in January to 12 years in prison for a first-degree assault conviction.

 

 

 

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