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Inmate crashes out of Iowa jail in stolen transport van

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May 1st, 2017 by Ric Hanson

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — An inmate who escaped from a western Iowa jail has been captured after crashing a stolen vehicle during a police chase in neighboring Nebraska. Authorities have acknowledged that an inmate, Wesley Correa-Carmenaty, stole a transport van and crashed out of the Pottawattamie County Jail around 11 a.m. Monday. According to media reports, two deputies were shot but were listed in fair condition at a local hospital. A third person was transported to Creighton Medical Center. A report on their condition was not immediately available.

Authorities say the van was abandoned a few blocks away, where the inmate either met an accomplice or carjacked someone’s car. He then drove over the Missouri River into Omaha, Nebraska. It’s unclear whether the inmate was alone and still in the same vehicle when he crashed in Omaha to end the high-speed police chase.

Correa-Carmenaty was being held in the Pott. County Jail on charges of 1st Degree Murder, Attempted Murder, and 1st Degree Robbery. He was scheduled to be sentenced today (Monday).