Escaped Rifle Correctional Facility inmate caught Tuesday night
CDOC/Courtesy
An inmate who escaped from a medium-security prison near Rifle Gap Reservoir was arrested Tuesday evening.
Officers with the Rifle Police Department arrested Jewel Gist, 54, at about 9:45 p.m. after Garfield County Dispatch received calls of possible sightings of the suspect moving south on Railroad Avenue, the RPD reported.
Gist is suspected of escaping the Rifle Correctional Facility some time between 8:55 a.m.-noon on Monday morning. Gist was convicted in Lincoln County of robbery and sentenced to 16 years in prison, the CDOC said on Monday. He has been incarcerated since 2016.
CDOC Public Information Officer Annie Skinner told the Citizen Telegram on Wednesday that Rifle police had received a tip that Gist had specifically been seen at a business in Rifle, which led to his capture.
“Rifle Police Officers made contact with Gist in the 1300 block of Railroad Ave. and were able to take him into custody without incident with the assistance of Garfield County Sheriff’s Deputies,” an RPD alert states. “Gist will be transferred back to the custody of the Department of Corrections.”
Skinner said Gist will be taken to a maximum-security DOC facility.
“We greatly appreciate the support of our local law enforcement partners during this incident,” she said.
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