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Man who ran from courthouse caught after scuffle with hospital police
Brandon Jones faces charges of escape and assault; bond set at $25K
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
Prosecutors said Monday the man who pushed a Mahoning County deputy sheriff last Thursday to run from a court appearance also grappled with MercyHealth police Sunday, after he was arrested at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital while visiting a family member.
Judge Elizabeth Kobly set bond at $25,000 for Brandon Jones, 26, of McGuffey Road in Lowellville, after he was arraigned in municipal court on charges of escape and assault.
But even if Jones can make that bond, he was ordered without bond on a warrant for charges of kidnapping and abduction for which he had a pretrial hearing Thursday at the Mahoning County Courthouse, only to run out of the fourth floor courtroom of Judge Lou D’Apolito.
Jones fled down four flights of stairs and out of the building after he was told he would be taken into custody on a warrant from Girard Municipal Court.
Jones had asked to hand his phone to his mother and after he reached for his phone he pushed a deputy and ran away, leaving his coat behind.
Deputies later found 67 $100 bills in his coat that were marked “Movie Money,” but they were packaged to look like they were real, reports said.
At the time, Jones was free on bond. The original charges stem from a SWAT call in December at Jones’ home.
After he ran out of the courthouse, Jones was able to elude deputies who were chasing him on foot downtown.
About 5:30 p.m. Sunday he was spotted by hospital police as he was visiting a relative who was in the hospital.
Reports said when police tried to talk to him he ran out the door of the room he was in and the officers ran after him.
Jones punched and spit on an officer and tried to grab another officer’s gun, reports said.
He was tackled and fell into a glass partition, cutting himself. As he was on the floor, he continued kicking even after he was stunned with a stun weapon.
Police shackled his legs before getting him under control, reports said.
U.S. marshals came and took custody of Jones and booked him into the county jail.