LaPorte County inmate recaptured after escape from jail

 

LA PORTE, Ind. -- Forty-three year old Desmond L. Robinson had been arrested on April 10, accused of breaking into a Smoke and Vape shop in Michigan City, when he reportedly ran from police and resisted their attempts to arrest him. 

Robinson had previously been arrested and charged for numerous burglary offenses-- as well as battery and trafficking-- over the past twenty years.

He had been housed at the LaPorte County Jail a little less than a month when around 11:30 last night, investigators say he manage to break out the glass of his third-story jail cell at the LaPorte County jail, where he climbed out using his tied up bed sheets and dropped down onto the street.

Residents nearby called the jail to report the escape, and to report seeing Robinson-- who was naked at the time-- near the 600 block of Lincolnway, where he was apprehended shortly afterward.

Some residents had no idea about the escape, only finding out the morning after. 

“It was definitely unsettling to know that it happened right in front of where we do business, where we live," said April Kelly, the owner of Go Aerial Fitness, where it is believed Robinson was found by police. “My five-thirty am Hot Yoga teacher let me know that the planters we had put out just yesterday were destroyed and knocked over, and as we learned more about it, we realized it was the inmate that escaped from the jail just down the street, and he was caught right by here.”

Kelly lives right above her yoga studio where Robinson was arrested; she says she initially left the door leading up to her apartment unlocked-- only to lock it after she realized it sometime late last night. 

While nothing happened, she's thankful the situation was not worse. 

“If it had been opened, it could have been a lot more traumatizing than just some spilled flower pots," she said. 

Just across the street, at Coachman Antique Mall, Jocelyn Hektor said she heard about Robinson's escape, but she was unnerved to know that he was arrested so close by. 

“It’s a little distressing to think about that," Hektor said. "I didn’t know he was caught so close to my work. It's a good thing no damage had been done to any of the buildings and he didn’t try to get in anywhere.”

Despite Robinson's escape, neither Kelly nor Hektor are too worried about any future attempts. 

“I feel like it’s an isolated incident, that people aren’t escaping from jail on a daily basis or anything," Kelly said. 

Hektor added “I almost feel like they’ll be a little more on alert, and hoping that people won’t try to do that again, because, you know, it just happened. It’d be pretty obvious to be looking out for something like that.”

The LaPorte County Sheriff's Office is still investigating how Robinson managed to escape from the jail. 

It's currently unclear what charges Robinson could face now after what happened.