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Grand Jury Indicts Man Who Escaped From Rhode Island Prison

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A federal grand jury has indicted a man who escaped from a Rhode Island prison and was on the run for five days.

U.S. Attorney Peter Neronha says the grand jury in Providence returned an indictment Tuesday charging James Morales with escaping from the custody of the attorney general.

Morales escaped from the Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls Dec. 31. He was captured about 50 miles north, in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Wyatt
Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, RI (WBZ-TV)

The 35-year-old former Army reservist had been held for about a year on charges he stole 16 guns from a U.S. Army Reserve Center in Worcester.

It took hours for correctional officers to notice when Morales escaped from the privately run prison.

He's scheduled to be arraigned Thursday.

Morales' public defender couldn't immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.

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