Escaped Florida Killers May Have Paid $8,000 for Forged Release Papers
The two men may have paid a forger thousands to aid in their escape.
Oct. 20, 2013— -- Two convicted murderers who escaped from a Florida prison may have paid someone thousands of dollars to create the forged release papers they used to fool officials, a law enforcement official said.
Joseph Jenkins and Charles Walker were apprehended without incident at the Coconut Grove Motor Inn in Panama City at approximately 5:40 p.m. Saturday, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said.
"They came out with their hands up in the air," U.S. Marshals Service Chief Inspector Frank Chiumento told ABC News. "They knew when they saw it on the news, their scheme was uncovered."
Shortly after 5 p.m. Saturday, about 20 members of the task force surrounded the hotel and told Jenkins and Walker to come out. About a minute later, both men came out with their hands in the air and were taken into custody without incident.
When the two convicted killers emerged from room 227, where they had been holed up, they told officials "they were relieved that it was over," Chiumento said.
WATCH: Witness Video Shows Police Takedown of Florida Prison Escapees
While it is unclear how the two men managed pay for their Panama City hotel room, FLDE Commissioner Gerald Bailey said that there is speculation that Jenkins and Walker paid a source to commit the forgery leading to their escape.
"There is speculation, an underlying speculation that there was a source where, for a certain sum of money, that these documents could be constructed for $8,000," he said today at a news conference in Tallahassee, Fla. "Whether that is true or not will be determined."
Investigators were interviewing the two escapees this afternooon at Bay County Jail, Bailry said.
"While the manhunt is over, there is still a lot we do not know," he said.
Jenkins and Walker had been in Bay County, Fla., for approximately two days when they were found at the hotel, Bailey said. He didn't know where the two convicts had hunkered down previously, but noted that they didn't have many possessions with them when they were taken into custody Saturday night.
At their first court appearance this afternoon, the judge ordered the convicts back to the custody of the state.
It is unclear whether they'll be transported back to Franklin County or Orange County, but Florida Department of Corrections secretary Michael Crews told ABC News they will not be returning to Franklin Correctional Institution, from which they made their escape.
While the manhunt for the escapees was on a national scale, law enforcement officials said they had information that led them to believe the men were hiding out in central Florida.
An interview with an associate, who was not in jail, helped pinpoint Jenkins' and Walker's whereabouts, Bailey said.
The men "were awaiting transportation from Atlanta to be transported to another state" when they were captured, he said. He did not know who the driver was or where the men planned to go once they fled the state.
Bailey indicated that more arrests would be made in connection with the jailbreak.
As far as how the men were able to evade the prison, he said "it was a system mistake," mentioning two other cases in which forging signatures to attempt a false release had been tried, but had no success.
Still, Florida Department of Corrections officials said they are assessing policies to ensure a situation like this doesn't happen in the future.
"I don't mind to tell you I did a lot of praying for the last five to six days and to say we're thankful, that's an understatement," state corrections secretary Crews said. "These are two hardened, convicted felons and the thought of them being out there in our state caused me great concern."
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