POCATELLO — Officers from multiple law enforcement agencies responded to Portneuf Medical Center on Wednesday night after a jail inmate broke free from custody at the hospital and ran.
The inmate, Jesse Bruce, 36, of Fort Hall, was at PMC for treatment and was being guarded by corrections personnel when he escaped around 10:20 p.m., Pocatello police said.
Officers from the Pocatello Police Department, Bannock County Sheriff’s Office and Idaho State Police responded to the PMC area to search for Bruce, an inmate at the Tribal Justice Center jail in Fort Hall.
Around 10:45 p.m., Pocatello police officers located Bruce in a field behind the Maverik convenience store on the 2100 block of East Center Street. Police said Bruce tried to run from them, but officers caught up with him and took him into custody without further incident.
Bruce was returned to Fort Hall authorities, police said.
Police said they’ve recommended to the Bannock County Prosecutor’s Office that Bruce be charged with escape.
Authorities haven’t disclosed what charges landed Bruce in jail in Fort Hall, but they said his criminal history prompted the large police response to his escape.