Putnam inmate shot, killed as he climbed jail fence

By Lise Fisher
Staff writer

Published: Wednesday, August 5, 2009 at 12:34 p.m.
An attempted escape at the Putnam County jail ended in death Wednesday morning when an officer shot the inmate who later died, deputies reported.

The inmate, Michael A. Campbell, 31, was pronounced dead shortly after 10 a.m. at an area hospital, according to the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.

The incident occurred at about 9:35 a.m.

Campbell climbed a perimeter containment fence while in the jail's recreation yard. A corrections deputy repeatedly warned Campbell to stop, the Sheriff's Office reported. But, officers said, Campbell jumped to the top of the fence and tried to flee on foot.

A deputy, armed with a shotgun, shot Campbell one time as he tried to escape, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Campbell was taken to the Putnam Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Campbell was a Florida Department of Corrections inmate and had been sentenced in 2003 on charges out of Putnam County for kidnapping, aggravated assault, possession of cocaine and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, according to information from DOC. He was being temporarily held at the Putnam County jail to make a court appearance at a child custody hearing, according to the Sheriff's Office. Campbell's release date from prison was set for December 2012.

Putnam County Sheriff Jeff Hardy is requesting that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement conduct an investigation into Campbell's death.

Currently FDLE, the Homicide Investigative Unit with the State Attorney's Office and the Medical Examiner's Office are conducting ongoing investigations into the incident.

This is the second escape or attempted escape at the Putnam County jail in five months.

Personnel lapses at the jail were blamed earlier this year for a jail escape in mid-April during which two inmates got out of the facility. The pair were later captured and charged with killing a retiree, a relative of one of the escapees, after they broke out of the jail. The men now are facing the death penalty.