MELBOURNE, Fla. – A man accused of attacking officers outside a hospital before escaping custody and leading officers on a manhunt has been taken into custody, Melbourne police said.
The investigation led police to a home in Northwest Palm Bay on Thursday, where they believed Eric Jordon Jerry, 24, was hiding, police said.
Officers contacted the resident of the property, who gave permission to search the home. During the search, Jerry was found attempting to conceal himself.
Police said he was taken into custody by the entry team without incident.
The attack happened on Wednesday at Orlando Health Melbourne Hospital on Wickham Road.
Melbourne police said Jerry was initially taken into custody earlier Wednesday on an outstanding warrant.
According to Melbourne Police Commander Shawn Eising, the warrant was related to a 2019 burglary case for which Jerry served prison time. Jerry was not committing any other crimes at the time of his arrest.
While he was being taken to jail, Jerry told police that he was suffering from a medical episode, so officers took him to the hospital, according to authorities.
Jerry, of Melbourne, somehow removed his handcuffs, “battered the officers” and ran into nearby woods, according to a police news release headlined “Escaped Prisoner.”
Eising confirmed the two officers involved were not seriously injured.
“As they were assisting him from the vehicle to a wheelchair, he slipped from the cuffs, and he pushed one of the officers down, and then another officer attempted to take him to the ground, and he battered that officer and was able to break free from both and run from the scene," said Eising.
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Police deployed an extensive search involving multiple agencies, K-9 units including bloodhounds, drones, and a sheriff’s office helicopter. Despite nearly six hours of active searching and perimeter lockdowns, officers were unable to locate Jerry by midnight.
Online records show that Jerry was released from prison in November after serving a five-year sentence. He was convicted of more than a dozen charges, the majority of which were burglary and grand theft, records show.
Eising held another news conference Friday morning, where he went into more detail of how law enforcement found and arrested Jerry.
“Over the course of trying to remove him from (the Palm Bay home), they did end up trying to take him to the ground. He did bump his head on a- like a nightstand that was there, so once again we ended up back at the hospital with him, although I will tell you this time he was wearing shackles as well as handcuffs and, you know, we took extra steps to make sure that we did not experience the same thing again,” Eising said.
Investigators looking for Jerry focused in part on his alleged partner, whom Eising said was tracked visiting the Palm Bay area multiple times.
The Melbourne police commander further said investigators were evaluating whether Jerry was picked up or harbored by others at all, clarifying no one else was accused at the time of this writing.
“Did he get there on foot? It’s not impossible, people can do it, but it’s more likely he found some kind of assistance,” Eising said, adding the actions of the officers who Jerry escaped from would be reviewed by the police department.
Despite his criminal history and new allegations, on Friday, Judge Kim Musselman gave Jerry a bond amount of more than $58,000.
He’s due back in court on March 10.
Watch the Friday news conference in the video player below or by clicking here.