Local & State Headlines

Inmate gives guards the slip at Albany hospital

• Deputies are looking for a man wanted on drug charges who fled a local hospital, authorities say.

J.D. Sumner

ALBANY — A man under guard escaped from an area hospital, jail officials said Thursday.

Winfred W. Turner, 45, who had been jailed at the Dougherty County Jail on two counts of possession of cocaine, possession of a crack pipe, giving a false name and address and driving with an open container of alcohol, fled from Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital Monday, Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Keith Kiger said.

Thursday, deputies and area law enforcement had yet to re-capture Turner, Kiger said.

Turner is the second person to end up on the streets from state custody in the Albany area in the last month.

Earlier this month, Travis Billings, who had been at a state correctional department boot camp since January, after being sentenced for punching an officer in the face in September 2005, was inadvertently released from the facility even though a court order had been issued ordering him to be remanded to the custody of the Dougherty Sheriff’s Office.

Kiger said Billings had several active warrants out for his arrest and was supposed to have been turned over to deputies at the end of his sentence, but was instead released .

Deputies were finally able to capture Billings late last week.

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