Flagler County inmate captured 7 hours after escaping from hospital

FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — Anthony Romine, a Flagler County Sheriff’s Office inmate, is back in custody after escaping Saturday.

According to the sheriff’s office, Romine was being treated at AdventHealth Palm Coast when he managed to escape on foot.

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He was found seven hours later hiding in the woods by the Amoco gas station near the southbound ramp at Interstate 95 and State Road 100 in Palm Coast.

The extensive search included drones, helicopters, and bloodhounds. During the search, officials received multiple calls about possible sightings.

Romine was originally arrested on July 3 on a felony warrant for Petit Theft, Violation of Pre-Trial Release, and two counts of Counterfeit.

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According to officials, Romine was taken to the hospital after falling in jail. Detectives later determined he faked the injury in hopes he could escape and return to his home state of Ohio.

“All he accomplished was to add additional arrests to his list of crimes and got bitten by our K-9, who gets a special treat for taking ‘a bite out of crime’ when he tried to flee again,” Sheriff Rick Staly said in a Facebook post. “Fortunately, no one was hurt except this dirtbag who was crying after he was caught by our K-9.”

Video of K-9 Neo biting Romine was posted to social media on Sunday.

Staly also said the sheriff’s office is going to review the incident to determine how the deputy assigned to watch Romine was distracted which resulted in the escape.

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