‘Pretty Boy Floyd’ was ready for a Coast police chase. He ran out of gas, MDOC head says
Convicted killer Michael “Pretty Boy Floyd” Wilson was captured Tuesday on the Coast, days after he escaped from a state prison that’s about three hours away from South Mississippi.
Wilson was captured in Harrison County, according to a Facebook post from the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
Harrison County deputies stopped Wilson at 12:51 p.m. on Mississippi 67 for driving a stolen car, Sheriff Troy Peterson said in a press release Tuesday.
The blue Buick had been reported stolen 20 minutes earlier. The victim called authorities to report a carjacking.
As police approached the stolen car near School Road and Success Roads, just off the highway, Wilson attempted to drive away, said Burl Cain, Mississippi Department of Corrections commissioner, in a press conference Tuesday.
But the car ran out of gas, and Wilson was arrested without incident.
“He was ready to go and ready to have a chase,” Cain said. “For the car to run out of gas, incredibly good luck for us.”
Wilson pleaded guilty in 2015 to two murders committed in Biloxi and Gulfport in 2014, according to Sun Herald archives. He was sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison.
How escape happened
Wilson’s capture came two days after Wilson broke out of the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in Rankin County.
Cain acknowledged mistakes were made in the chain of custody that allowed Wilson to escape. Wilson was improperly taken out of maximum security to medium security, he said, but wouldn’t elaborate further, citing concerns with other inmates exploiting the system.
“We had a glitch,” Cain said. “We are shocked and appalled.”
He said there is an ongoing internal investigation into how it occurred but that 12 employees are facing “severe” disciplinary action.
It’s the second time Wilson escaped prison in the state. He previously broke out of Leakesville’s South Mississippi Correctional Facility in Greene County. He was found days later near Ocean Springs.
Wilson will now be sent to Walnut Grove and faces potential charges for carjacking, assault and fleeing from officers.
This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 1:47 PM.