newjerseynewsroom.com

BY JUDY LUCAS

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

A Union County jail inmate who escaped from his guards while on trash duty outside the lockup in Elizabeth last week, was captured by authorities Monday.

Phillip Ruddy, 21, of Rahway, was found by police hiding in the basement of a house in Newark at 5 p.m.

Authorities were tipped off by Ruddy's father's parole officer, said Union County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow.

Ruddy, who had been jailed on a parole violation since June 1, has been charged with escape.

Ruddy had been considered a low-risk inmate and had the rank of 'trustee' and was able to move outside the jail complex and on to Elizabethtown Plaza as part of his prison job collecting trash.

Just after midnight on June 29, Ruddy fled, running two blocks to a waiting car.

This is the second time in about 18 months that an inmate has escaped the jail.

Otis Blunt and Jose Espinosa garnered national attention for their escape in December 2007 by grinding down their cell cinder block wall to the outside.

New security measures were put in place, from cameras to razor wire, a new director was hired and guards were suspended.

"Another investigation into jail security is necessary," Romankow said.

"This case does not end here. There will be a full review and a fresh look at the jail's policies and procedures."