Man who escaped custody in Tennessee caught in Pinellas County: FBI investigators

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The man who federal investigators said escaped custody in Tennessee and was spotted a month later in Pinellas County was taken into custody Tuesday evening. 

The FBI's office in Tampa said Sean Williams, 52, was apprehended in Pinellas County after being tracked down by a K-9 officer. 

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said deputies responded to 11505 Walsingham Road after receiving a report of a suspicious person in the area, which is where they found the suspect.

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Authorities said the suspect escaped from a transport van while he was being moved from a detention facility in Kentucky to the federal courthouse in Greenville, Tennessee more than a month ago. 

Courtesy: Tennessee Bureau of Investigations. 

Williams was in federal custody for three counts of production of child sexual abuse materials and one count of cocaine distribution, according to authorities. A federal warrant was issued for the suspect after he escaped on October 18. 

Brian Boyd, former DEA Agent and Forensics and Counterintelligence expert called Williams escape suspicious. He said, "The question of escaping from a transport van begs two questions; how did he get away? Usually, they're chained at their ankles and their wrists so was there some collusion with somebody within the jail system? How did he get a key?'

Courtesy: FBI Tampa.

Boyd believes Williams likely had an escape plan in place. The FBI reports Williams had tried to escape custody in July 2023, but was unsuccessful. "If he had an accomplice, did they provide him a vehicle? I can't imagine he got out of a transport van and started running up the highway in an orange suit," he said.

FOX13 asked FBI Tampa Bay what Williams' ties to Pinellas County were, if any. But did not receive a response. 

Boyd says many fugitives choose Florida without a plan in place. 

"I don't want to make a joke about it but everybody comes to Florida for the warm weather. It's also relatively easier to disappear because there a good amount of tourists down here," he said.