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Fugitive from Illinois caught in Port Richey
Deputies tracked her down after she tried to rent a car without a Florida driver's license.
By STEVE THOMPSON
Published February 29, 2004
Pasco sheriff's deputies arrested on Friday an Illinois woman who escaped from a jail in that state last week.
Nancy D. Gray passed herself off as another inmate to escape the jail, authorities say.
She was arrested at gunpoint in Port Richey by deputies who tracked her down after she tried to rent a car in the area without a Florida driver's license.
Gray's jailhouse ruse was reported last week by the Wayne County Press in Fairfield, Ill.
For days she switched bunks with another inmate whose appearance was similar to hers until she was satisfied she could pass herself off as the other inmate, authorities told the Press. The other inmate's bail had been set at $1,250 while Gray's was $25,000.
Gray had someone come to the jail to bail the other inmate out. When the officer called the inmate's name for release, Gray responded instead. She walked out of the Wayne County jail assuming the other inmate's identity after posting only $1,250, the Press reported.
The trick was discovered a few hours later and authorities began searching for her.
On Friday, Pasco sheriff's Cpl. Robert Haugh began tracking Gray after a call from an Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Port Richey, where she had tried to rent a car with cash and without a Florida driver's license.
He tracked Gray through a taxi company to a car dealership, where she bought a used car with $3,100 cash. From there he tracked her to a home at 8115 Durham Drive, Port Richey.
He called for backup and arrested her at gunpoint.
Gray was being held without bail Friday, awaiting extradition to Illinois.
Once returned, she will be held on $40,000 bail, Wayne County authorities told the Press. She had been in jail in the first place after more than 60 grams of methamphetamine were seized from her home in Illinois, authorities said.
[Last modified February 29, 2004, 01:15:11]
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