'Pretty Boy Floyd' captured in Jackson County

Michael "Pretty Boy Floyd" Wilson, who had eluded authorities for three days after escaping from a Leakesville prison, was captured Saturday night in St. Martin, officials said.

He was taken into custody at about 6 p.m. Earlier in the day, Mississippi Coast Crime Stoppers had offered a $2,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

Wilson, 47, escaped from the South Mississippi Correctional Institution in Leakesville on Thursday by climbing a fence, according to the Mississippi Department of Corrections. He was on the lam for 53 hours.

Wilson was taken to the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility near Pearl on Sunday, the MDOC website shows. SMCI in Leakesville had been on lock-down since Wilson's escape.

Neighbors gave tips that Wilson was in a home on Sunnyside Drive in St. Martin, according to WXXV News 25. The community is in Jackson County just east of D'Iberville and on the south side of Interstate 10.

Officers found Wilson around Sunnyside Drive and Palfrey Road, thanks to tips called in, Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell told WXXV on Monday.

"It was one of numerous calls where people described him and the questions he was asking the person," Ezell told WXXV.

"He wanted to borrow a T-shirt, he wanted some sunglasses. So, that was a pretty dead giveaway right there."

A neighbor, Seth Whittington told WXXV he felt better knowing Wilson was captured.

"I just never thought it would have been here, to be honest with you, "Whittington said.

MDOC Commissioner Pelicia E. Hall commended MDOC officers and local, state, county and federal agencies for helping "to get a dangerous felon back into custody without anyone getting hurt.”

Wilson had first been spotted after he asked an elderly woman to give him a ride to Lucedale, George County Sheriff Keith Havard said. Havard the Sun Herald Thursday that Wilson was believed to be heading south toward Jackson County. Later that night, D'Iberville police said they had reason to believe Wilson was in the city.

Wilson is serving two life sentences after a conviction on two counts of murder in 2015 from Harrison County. He was sentenced Sept. 2, 2015. Wilson was convicted in the 2014 murders of Carmen Dale Edwards of Biloxi and Kenneth Gibson of Gulfport. Wilson beat both of them to death.

Wilson also is serving time on five other felony convictions.

Social media was awash with claims of sightings of Pretty Boy Floyd on Thursday night into Friday morning. None of those claims panned out.

In addition to the MDOC, other participating agencies include the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Ocean Springs Police Department, D’Iberville Police Department, Gulfport Police Department, Biloxi Police Department, Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, and the U.S. Marshals Service Task Force.

Sun Herald reporters Robin Fitzgerald and Margaret Baker contributed to this report.

This story was originally published July 9, 2018 at 3:28 PM.