AUBURN, N.Y. — An Auburn man seen running on Grant Avenue wearing an inmate uniform forced the Cayuga County Jail into lockdown on Wednesday afternoon so authorities could make sure no one had escaped.
The man was found not to be an escaped inmate and faces charges, the Cayuga County Sheriff’s Office said.
At approximately 12:28 p.m., the Cayuga County 911 Center received a call of a man running on Grant Avenue in Auburn wearing an orange, apparently jail-issued, jumpsuit, according to a sheriff’s office press release.
Auburn police and sheriff’s units responded and attempted to locate the individual, while the Cayuga County Jail was immediately put in lockdown for a count of the inmates, which showed all were accounted for.
Justin M. DeCapio, 29, of 101 VanAnden St., Auburn, was later located by the Auburn Police Department in a vehicle on Grant Avenue wearing clothing issued to inmates at the Cayuga County Jail. The clothing was “conspicuously marked and unmistakable as jail-issued clothing,” the press release said.
He was arrested and charged with possession of stolen property and transported to the Cayuga County Public Safety Building, where he was processed and released on an appearance ticket.
The sheriff’s office said that DeCapio could not explain why he had the uniform, police said, but he had previously been an inmate at the jail.
Last December, DeCapio was released from the jail and required to wear an ankle monitor as New York’s bail reform law was set to go into effect. He had been held there after being charged with three felonies: two counts of fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and second-degree forgery.?
DeCapio was also charged Aug. 13 with criminal mischief, second-degree unlawful imprisonment and endangering the welfare of a child.
Anyone with information regarding the current incident can contact Detective Robert Guarnieri at (315) 253-3545. The sheriff’s office can also be contacted at (315) 253-1179 (follow the prompts to reach any member or office) and tips can be left online at www.cayugasheriff.com.
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©2020 The Citizen, Auburn, N.Y.