Inmate who escaped Sullivan County House of Corrections caught in Connecticut

By Mike Moses

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    UNITY, New Hampshire (WMUR) — An inmate who escaped from the Sullivan County House of Corrections in Unity, New Hampshire, was captured Sunday in Norwalk, Connecticut, authorities said.

Jianming Zeng, 33, escaped from the jail around 3:40 p.m. Saturday during a scheduled outdoor recreation period, according to officials.

Superintendent Shawn Coughlan with the Sullivan County House of Corrections confirmed Zeng is an ICE detainee.

Coughlan told News 9 that Zeng managed to escape by throwing a piece of clothing over a fence and climbing through barbed wire. Coughlan said a corrections officer saw him escape and gave “verbal commands, but it happened so quick, he wasn’t able to use less-lethal force or apprehend him before he escaped.”

After escaping, Zeng allegedly stole a truck from a home about a mile away.

Roger Filion, the property owner, said he received an alert from his trail camera app Sunday morning and saw Zeng walking through his field late Saturday night.

“There’s this dude with a stick walking through my field at 10:35 last night,” Filion said. “So I call the police, tell them that I got their dude on my camera.”

Filion said his Ford F-250 was missing, and a trail of blood was left behind.

“Blood all over the yard, blood all over the truck handle, my daughter’s door handle,” he said.

Officials said Zeng was taken into custody in Norwalk with help from multiple law enforcement agencies.

“We had K-9s, drones in the air — a lot of resources out there to capture him,” said the Sullivan County Sheriff Jayson Almstrom. “New London PD, Claremont PD, Newport police, State Police, and Newbury all responded. The help from the community — checking their cameras, reporting anything suspicious — that helped tremendously. Without that, we’d still be looking for him.”

Coughlan said the jail went into lockdown after the escape, and a head count confirmed Zeng was the only inmate missing.

“We’ve never had, to my knowledge, an escape from the [recreation] yard in that means. So, this is a first time for me,” Coughlan said.

An internal review is underway, but Coughlan said he does not believe the escape was due to staff error. He said the recreation area Zeng escaped from will not be used again until security issues are addressed.

Investigators said Zeng was recently stopped in New Hampshire after authorities in Oklahoma charged him with fraud. He was then charged with fugitive from justice in New Hampshire.

Coughlan said Zeng’s capture was a relief for both staff and the community.

“You shouldn’t have to worry about prisoners walking through your door yard in the middle of the night,” Filion said.

Zeng is currently being held in Connecticut. It is unclear where he will be transferred next, as he faces charges in multiple states.

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