ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — A prison inmate serving a 30-year sentence for statutory sodomy of a child who escaped from Mercy Hospital South was charged Monday in St. Louis County in connection with his time on the run.
Tommy Wayne Boyd, 45, was charged with one felony count each of escape or attempted escape from confinement with a deadly weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm, and two misdemeanor counts of stealing.
Boyd spent about 16 hours outside around south St. Louis and St. Louis County on Sept. 21. He hitched a ride, applied for a job and ate a free hot dog before being arrested without incident that evening.
While Boyd is being held on the most recent charges in lieu of a $500,000 cash-only bond, he was taken back to the Potosi Correctional Center shortly after his arrest to serve the remainder of his initial sentence.
The manhunt
Boyd was transported on Sept. 21 to Mercy Hospital South from the Potosi Correctional Facility for treatment. The Department of Corrections said that policy states when an inmate needs medical attention at an outside facility, he or she is accompanied by two officers and is restrained.
Hospital staff last saw Boyd Thursday at about 3:55 a.m., and he was reported missing shortly after.
Surveillance video shared by the St. Louis County police showed Boyd leaving the hospital and traveling in an unknown direction at about 4 a.m.
A law enforcement source said Boyd escaped when one of the two guards assigned to watch him went to the bathroom and the other guard fell asleep.
Boyd then lifted the key off the sleeping guard, uncuffed himself, took the guard's jacket and walked out, according to a probable cause statement. He later told police he removed one of the guard's guns from the holster but replaced it, the statement said.
Boyd was taken into custody while he was walking into a Dierbergs on Watson Road in Shrewsbury, charging documents said. The store is located about 7 miles from Mercy Hospital South.
Who is Tommy Boyd?
Boyd is a registered sex offender serving a 30-year sentence for the statutory sodomy of a child in Greene County in 2007, according to the Missouri Department of Corrections.
Under Missouri law, statutory sodomy is described as having "deviant sexual intercourse" with anyone under the age of 14 years old.
From February 1997 to October 2006, Boyd was incarcerated for a previous statutory sodomy conviction in Springfield, Missouri, according to the Sex Offender Registry. His victim was 11 years old.