Madison County inmate still on the run after stealing prison van

MADISON COUNTY, MS (WLBT) - A Madison County inmate is still on the run after he stole a prison van Friday morning.

According to Sheriff Randy Tucker, sheriff’s department officials believe Todd C. Moudy is still be in the Canton area in Madison County.

According to Sheriff Tucker, Moudy was being transported back to the jail after a felony bond hearing. Moudy’s bond was revoked and he made a statement that he didn’t want to go back to jail.

Around 11:05 a.m., a transport officer was escorting prisoners back inside the jail when Moudy, the last prisoner needing to be escorted inside, was able to overtake the officer and steal the van.

Moudy was shackled and handcuffed at the time of the escape.

No other inmates were inside the van at the time of the theft.

According to Tucker, the transport van did have a weapon inside a lock box inside the van. Officials are not sure if Moudy was able to gain access to the lock box.

Moudy was able to drive the van while wearing shackles and handcuffs. He rammed an officer’s vehicle while trying to escape. The officer was not injured.

Moudy is from Canton and officials believe he is still in the northeastern Madison County area.

“We still feel like he’s here in the Canton area," said Sheriff Tucker. "He has a lot of family and friends from this area. He’s a hometown boy, he’s from here. He really doesn’t have anywhere else to go. There was also a firearm in the van. The transporting officer’s gun was secured in the van. It’s quite possibly he has access to that firearm. So we consider him to be armed and dangerous.”

Madison County Sheriff’s Department PIO Heath Hall says Moudy was last seen on Sharon Road wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and flip flops.

He is considered armed and dangerous.

Moudy faced two felony drug charges and a felony weapons charge. Sheriff Tucker says he will face additional charges including escape, assault and auto theft.

The following message was sent out today to families of students at Luther Branson Elementary, Madison Crossing Elementary, and Shirley Simmons Middle School:

“The Madison County Sheriff’s office reports that an inmate escaped today and is believed to be near the Rankin County line. While none of our Madison County Schools is in the immediate area of the escaped inmate, as an added precaution students will remain inside our school building for the remainder of the school day, and Madison Sheriff’s officers will be on our campus at dismissal time today. As always the safety of our students is our top priority and we appreciate the presence of local law enforcement as an extra precaution.”

We will update this story as more information becomes available.

Copyright 2018 WLBT. All rights reserved.