Tennessee Inmate Walks Off Work Crew, Takes 100-Mile Joyride

NASHVILLE, TN -- A Tennessee prisoner made it more than 100 miles in a stolen pick-up truck after walking off a work crew in downtown Nashville Tuesday, though there was never any public notification of his escape.

Adam Williams, 38, was on a Department of Correction work detail at the James K. Polk State Office Building, as he and other inmates unloaded a moving truck at the building. Authorities say that Williams, who is serving five years for burglary and theft at Nashville's Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, spotted a pick-up truck parked nearby with its engine running and, at 1:30 Tuesday afternoon, seized the opportunity to escape.

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Guards "immediately implemented appropriate procedures," notifying local law enforcement and the Tennessee Highway Patrol, TDOC said in a release, and Williams was apprehended in Cumberland County, more than 100 miles from Nashville, with the assistance of THP and the Cumberland County Sheriff's Department, 90 minutes after he absconded.

Though law enforcement was notified immediately, TDOC officials said, there was no public notice of Williams' escape. Neither TDOC, THP nor Metro Police issued any press releases or posted any announcement on social media about Williams. A TDOC spokesperson told Patch Wednesday that she was "preparing to hit send" on a press release when Williams was taken back into custody and that TDOC's first priority when an inmate is on the loose is to notify law enforcement agencies.

Williams' original sentence is set to expire February 2022. Though he is housed at Riverbend, he himself is a minimum-security prisoner with no escape history.

Metro Police said he will be charged with auto theft. Other charges may be forthcoming after an investigation.

Photo via Tennessee Department of Correction