Escaped felon captured at girlfriend’s house in Winter Haven: Police

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - A convicted felon is back behind bars and his girlfriend is facing charges after police say she hid him at a home in Winter Haven.

According to the Winter Haven Police Department, Erich P. Mueller, 35, had been in prison since 2020. He was serving a five-year sentence for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of methamphetamine, carrying a concealed firearm, and grand theft motor vehicle.

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On September 14, 2024, police say he ran off from The Transition House in Kissimmee.

Erich P. Mueller and Alexandria J. Orrick mugshots courtesy of the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

More than a month later, on Oct. 17, 2024, Winter Haven police got a tip from Crime Stoppers that Mueller might be hiding out at a home located at 680 Ave. N. SE. in Winter Haven.

Winter Haven detectives began surveilling the home and arrested Mueller when they saw him walk outside.

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Mueller’s girlfriend, Alexandria J. Orrick, 32, lived at the home and investigators say she told them that she knew Mueller had escaped and that she was letting him at the home without telling law enforcement.

She was arrested for harboring an escaped prisoner.

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