UPDATE: Escaped Santa Clara County Jail inmate arrested in Mississippi
UPDATE 4/8/2015: A missing Santa Clara County Jail inmate has been arrested in Mississippi, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said Johnell Carter, 40, was arrested Tuesday by U.S. Marshals after police had been searching for his since March 6.
The Sheriff’s Office said Carter was in jail on child molestation charges when he escaped, shortly after fighting with a deputy.
NewsChannel 5 will update this information as more becomes available.
UPDATE 3/26/2015: On Thursday, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office said detectives arrested Joseph Carter, the brother of escaped inmate Johnell Carter.
Detectives said Joseph was arrested in Lodi, California for assisting his brother’s escape on March 6.
The Sheriff’s Office said it believes Johnell Carter isn’t in the great San Jose area any longer and a multi-agency task force is still searching for him.
UPDATE 3/16/15: The Deputy Sheriff’s Association of Santa Clara County said it will match the Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers reward, for the arrest of Johnell Carter.
The reward for information leading to Carter’s arrest is now $6,000. Anyone with information should contact the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office or Crime Stoppers.
UPDATE 3/12/15: The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office said it reached out to Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers for help in the arrest of escaped inmate Johnell Carter. The agency is offering up to $3,000 dollars for information leading to Carter’s arrest.
Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers can be reached at 408-947-STOP (7867) or email at TIPSUBMIT.COM.
The Sheriff’s Office is still actively searching for Johnell Carter.
PREVIOUS STORY: The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department says it has created a special multi-agency task force to find escaped inmate Johnell Carter. They say they are still actively searching for him and following up on all leads and tips.
Investigators believe that Johnell Carter is still in the greater San Jose area, but are asking people in and around the region to be on the lookout.
Johnell Carter has a tattoo on the left side of his neck that says “Amy.” Other descriptors include a mole on the left side of his chin and another tattoo on the left upper arm of “Johnell Jr.”
Johnell Carter has been in the Santa Clara County Jail since March 10, 2014 for five counts of child molestation out of Campbell.
On Friday, Johnell Carter was transported to Valley Medical Center for a medical appointment and sheriff’s deputies said at the appointment he fought with a deputy and ran from the hospital.
A perimeter was set up in the area and about 45 deputies, three K-9 officers, a Sheriff’s Office helicopter, a California Highway Patrol helicopter as well as officers, and San Jose Police Officers all searched until just before 6:00 p.m.
The deputies remain in the area and detectives are continuing to search for Carter.
Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Unit at (408) 808-4500 or the anonymous tip line at (408) 808-4431. If you see Johnell Carter, do not try to apprehend him but, call 911.
