Jonah Barrett-Lesko was spotted just a mile from the prison in just his boxer shorts
A man who was accused of having sex with a horse escaped jail this week – but made it less than a mile before he was captured in just his boxer shorts and hauled back behind bars.
Jonah Barrett-Lesko was captured by police in the Animas River in Durango, a small city in southwestern Colorado, about 25 minutes after he escaped from the La Plata County Jail on Tuesday, police told the Durango Herald.
Police were tipped off about the 25-year-old’s great escape after someone spotted a man in a jumpsuit running near Office Depot.
Man escapes from La Plata County Jail, is arrested in Animas River. Jonah Barrett-Lesko led police on chase outside jail days before his sentencing.https://t.co/8VEKEdvmVl pic.twitter.com/QZ9ayQoLx7
— Durango Herald (@DurangoHerald) September 22, 2021
Durango Police Chief Bob Brammer happened to be driving by the area, about 20 minutes later, when he spotted Barrett-Lesko – now just in his boxer shorts.
He’d shed his prison-issue jumpsuit, possibly in an effort to go undetected, and was seen running along Animas River, just under a mile from the prison.
“That’s what really attracted my attention to him because you don’t see half-naked people running through the woods in their boxer shorts,” Brammer told the Herald.
Brammer and another officer pursued Barrett-Lesko back and forth across the river before more officers arrived. He was apprehended without a struggle.
The Herald quoted sheriff’s office lieutenant Pat Downs as saying Barrett-Lesko had been in the prison recreation yard alone when he climbed up a wall and “got out of some small hole”.
Barrett-Lesko first made headlines when he was caught on camera allegedly having sexual intercourse with a horse at the La Plata County fairgrounds in the middle of the night on June 17.
He was later released on bail, the Herald reported, but was arrested again on suspicion of several burglaries, including stealing six bicycles, breaking into a parked car, and shoplifting.
He pleaded guilty August 13 to felony burglary and possession of burglary tools in a plea agreement. The New York Post reported that the deal led to animal cruelty charges being dropped.
Barrett-Lesko was scheduled for sentencing Friday but while on bail the Herald said he was arrested again on suspicion of attempted motor vehicle theft. After being returned to jail he then escaped.
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