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Inmates caught after escape
By RYAN DAVIS and BRADY DENNIS
© St. Petersburg Times,
It didn't last long. Investigators refused to say just how the two 23-year-olds -- one who has connections to an unsolved murder case -- eluded security and disappeared from a fenced recreation area at the jail around 2 p.m. "It's under investigation," Sheriff Bob White said. Babb twisted his ankle while escaping and didn't make it far. Deputies found him in the jail parking lot around 2:15 p.m., wearing his white T-shirt and orange gym shorts. But Touchton -- who is charged with kidnapping a cabbie, has admitted he was at the scene of an unsolved homicide and previously served time for helping set Pasco's most destructive fire ever -- didn't give up as easily. The Sheriff's Office sent 25 deputies, two helicopters and various police dog units after him. Deputies established a roadblock at the entrance to the jail. They searched every car on its way out, peeking underneath and through the windows. No one but deputies, not even civilian employees, could get inside the jail. Marked patrol cars lined the sides of U.S. 41 and State Road 52. Even the agency's top brass got involved in the search. After a meeting at the jail, White was talking with employees at a garage near the jail when he heard about the escape. One of the two sheriff's helicopters didn't have a spotter, so White jumped aboard and helped search from the sky. At about 3:30 p.m., Touchton was captured while walking south along U.S. 41 near Tower Road. "He was ducking the marked (patrol) cars, and one of our unmarked guys got him," White said. An undercover narcotics deputy in an unmarked car tracked Touchton until another deputy could stop him. "He didn't fight," said sheriff's spokesman, Kevin Doll. "He was too tired." Deputies said Babb was in jail awaiting trial on numerous charges, including armed bank robbery, grand theft with a firearm, domestic aggravated battery with a firearm and larceny. Touchton has been linked to a string of west Pasco crimes this summer. He was one of four men involved in the June 29 robbery of a cab driver at gunpoint in Hudson, deputies said. They say the men forced the cab driver into the trunk and repeatedly threatened to kill him. Touchton was charged with burglary, carjacking with a firearm, kidnapping an adult for ransom and robbery with a firearm. He is scheduled to appear in court for a hearing on Oct. 26. One of the men wanted in that carjacking turned up dead five days later. His murder remains unsolved, but Touchton previously told the Times that he witnessed the killing, but wasn't guilty. In addition to the June robbery, Touchton has been arrested five other times, with charges ranging from vehicle theft, to marijuana possession, to criminal mischief. When he was 16, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for helping set the 1993 fire at USA Fleamarket in Bayonet Point, which did $6-million damage. Touchton was released in January after serving six years of the sentence. Deputies said both Touchton and Babb, who remained in jail Thursday without bond, now face additional felony escape charges. White, standing outside the jail, said he will fix whatever problem allowed the men to escape. "Somebody made a mistake," he said. "This isn't supposed to happen." -- Times researcher Kitty Bennett contributed to this report.
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