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Escaped prisoner, Bruce William Miller II, has been recaptured, Pennsylvania State Police announced in an updated release published later the same day that he escaped. Additional information was not released.
ORIGINAL:
A prisoner has escaped less than 12 days after he led State police in Venango County are looking for an escaped prisoner.
Bruce William Miller II, 43, of Franklin City, was arrested and taken to Venango County Jail on May 6, 2023 after he was caught fleeing from police who were attempting to arrest him on outstanding warrants from Mercer County with full extradition, according to court documents obtained by Daily Voice.
When the officer got the tip that he would be there at 8 p.m., a neighbor flagged him down saying a man on a bicycle tried to hide under his porch before he ran to a neighboring house, as detailed in the complaint.
Police went to the neighbor's detached garage and found a foot sticking out from under a blanket in the garage, so the officer pulled the blanket off the person and handcuffed Miller— but he kicked the officer which caused the officer to fall back into the garage, the complaint said.
Miller ran across Center Street— nearly getting hit by a car, while being chased by the officer he had kicked, and the officer lost site of him at the Purple Goose Bar and Restaurant, according to the complaint.
The officer searched the area and found Miller— still handcuffed— hiding in a bathroom at a house on Pacific Street, as stated in the complaint.
Miller was charged with the following according to his court docket:
- Criminal Trespassing – Entering a Structure.
- Resisting Arrest/Other Law Enforcement.
- Flight to Avoid Apprehension/Trial/Punishment.
- Evading Arrest or Detention on Foot.
He was being held in the Venango County Prison after being denied bail as a “transient/flight risk" and he had a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, May 17 at Venango Central Court, according to his latest court docket.
Sometime between Wednesday around 3 p.m. and Friday, May 19, 2023, around 4 a.m., Miller suffered a head injury and was taken to UPMC Northwest at 100 Fairfield Drive, Seneca, under the custody of the guards, Pennsylvania state police explained.
Around 4:40 a.m., he fled from the hospital on foot still wearing his orange jumpsuit, according to state police.
Additional charges of escape and aggravated assault - attempts to cause or causes bodily injury to designated individuals have been filed, but details about the assault were unavailable when Daily Voice reached out to the police and the court on Friday around 2 p.m.
Miller is described as 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighing 165 pounds. He has brown hair, hazel eyes and a goatee. Miller has a crown tattoo on his neck and a cut with stitches on his head.
He is wanted for offenses in at least two counties. He has ties to Franklin as his father and namesake, who also has a criminal record (for multiple instances of driving under the influence), lives in the area, court records detail.
Anyone with information is asked to call state police at 814-676-6596.
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