Who:
Pinellas County Sheriff's Office
Patrol Operations Bureau
Support Services Bureau
-Forensic Sciences Division

David L. Ross (Fugitive Arrested)
DOB: 06/03/1974
Address: (last known) 7925 West Gulf Boulevard, Treasure Island
Pinellas County SO Charges: Unlawful Possession of a Concealed Handcuff Key, Driving While Driver’s License Suspended/Revoked, and Resisting An Officer Without Violence
Bartow PD Charges: Armed Kidnapping of a Correctional Officer, Armed Robbery and Burglary of a Motor Vehicle, and Aggravated Assault of a Correctional Officer and Escape

Florida Department of Corrections Officer Jeffrey Rexrode (Unarmed Victim)

What:
Pinellas Deputies apprehended and arrested an armed escaped prisoner and kidnapping suspect from Polk County.

When:
The suspect was arrested at about 1:50 p.m. on Wednesday, October 19, 2016.

Where:
The suspect was apprehended at 5208 Coral Way in St. Petersburg.

Why/How:
According to patrol deputies, they received information this afternoon that an armed escaped prisoner and kidnapping suspect from Polk County was in the Pinellas County area. The suspect, David L. Ross, was a Department of Corrections (DOC) prisoner who had escaped custody, taking a Correctional Officer as a hostage, in a stolen City of Bartow utility truck.

At around 1:50 p.m., deputies with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office located the stolen white, four-door Ford F-250 truck Ross was driving on 54^th Avenue North. When Ross saw deputies, he drove the truck up into a yard of a residence at 4800 54^th Avenue North in St. Petersburg. He then exited the vehicle and fled on foot.  After a brief foot chase, deputies captured Ross at 5208 Coral Way in St. Petersburg and took him into custody. Shortly thereafter, Florida Department of Corrections Officer Jeffrey Rexrode, was located at a local store, where he had escaped from the inmate’s custody. Rexrode was unharmed, with no reported injuries.

Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Forensic Sciences Division assisted Bartow PD by collecting evidence at the scene.

Ross was arrested and charged by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office with Unlawful Possession of a Concealed Handcuff Key, Driving While Driver’s License Suspended/Revoked, and Resisting an Officer Without Violence. He is also pending charges by the Bartow Police Department including Armed Kidnapping of a Correctional Officer, Armed Robbery and Burglary of a Motor Vehicle, Aggravated Assault of a Correctional Officer, and Escape.

Ross was transported to the Pinellas County Jail without further incident.

Ross was set to be released from custody in February 2019 and was in minimal-level custody at the Polk Work Camp at the time of his escape.

The investigation continues.