Handcuffed suspect who escaped from Manatee County patrol car turns himself in

A suspect who escaped from the back of a patrol car Saturday night turned himself in Monday afternoon, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

Joel Canchola, 34, was the passenger in a vehicle involved in hit-and-run crash Saturday evening in which he and the driver fled, a report said. He was handcuffed and barefoot when he escaped.

Canchola is now charged with escape and giving false information to law enforcement as well as violation of probation, according to a release.

“He heard that obviously we were looking for him,” Bristow said. “He’ll be charged with escape and also providing false information because at first he gave us the wrong name yesterday.”

Deputies investigating the accident scene determined Canchola and the driver, who was not identified, were located in the 5600 block of Fifth Street Court East.

After tracking down the suspects shortly before 10 p.m., deputies discovered that Canchola was wanted on warrants for violation of probation for possession of a controlled substance and resisting arrest without violence.

“He was handcuffed and placed in the back of patrol car. Minutes later, deputies went to check on Canchola and found that he had escaped from the patrol car,” the report said.

This story was originally published August 22, 2016 at 5:12 PM with the headline "Handcuffed suspect who escaped from Manatee County patrol car turns himself in."