Volusia County Sheriff’s investigators have obtained arrest warrants for Gary Bullock, Jr. and his Palm-Coast-based girlfriend for aiding in the escape. The two are believed to be armed and on the run with a 3-year-old child. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is assisting in the investigation.
Bullock, who’s had several arrests in Flagler County, began serving an eight-year prison sentence in February 2010 for multiple felony offenses that included robbery, grand theft, burglary and possession of a controlled substance. He was imprisoned at a work release center in Daytona Beach, operated by Tomoka Correctional Institution.
On Friday, he escaped.
He left the prison facility Friday morning to report to his job at the El Caribe Resort & Conference Center in Daytona Beach Shores. Friday afternoon, Bullock was picked up at work by his girlfriend, Natasha Quigley. Before leaving the hotel, Bullock cut off his ankle monitor and tossed it into the parking lot and then the two took off in Quigley’s white, 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt with a Florida tag, EUJL31, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
The Sheriff’s Office was notified at about 3 p.m. on Friday, after state corrections officials received an alert that Bullock’s GPS monitor had been removed. Both Bullock and Quigley are 24 and are believed to be traveling with a 3-year-old boy. Investigators also discovered that before leaving, Quigley stole money, blank checks and a gun from her parents’ home in Palm Coast.
Sheriff’s investigators have obtained warrants charging Bullock with escape, destruction of an electronic monitor and criminal mischief. He’s 5’6” and weighs approximately 173 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes and a tattoo on his right arm. Quigley, who lives in Bunnell, is facing a charge of aiding escape. She’s 5’6 and weighs approximately 175 pounds and has brown hair and blue eyes.
Anyone who spots either Bullock, Quigley or their vehicle or who has information on their whereabouts is asked to call 911 immediately.
Anonymous says
This is not the first…..and won’t be the last.
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-02-04/news/fl-escapees-20120203_1_work-release-law-enforcement-offenders
Cyd Weeks says
Thank you for the link! He’s sentenced to 10 years..and somehow he’s eligible for a work release program? Wow. Just wow.
liberal says
So, let me get this straight…. When you think the bad guy gets sentenced to 8 years in prison, we actually believe he is in a cell. However, he goes to a resort job instead. Good lesson!
Also got to wonder whose job he may have taken, heck, probably some law abiding citizen in need to feed his family.
Scott says
Work release…..Only in Ammerrikka.
Nancy N. says
Florida DOC inmates who qualify for community custody (only certain few do out of the 100,000 inmates in DOC custody) may apply for work release during the final few months of their sentences. Work release is designed to transition inmates to living constructively and successfully in the community so that they will not re-offend upon release. Inmates are placed for work release in the area in which they intend to live after their release, with the goal being to place them in employment that they will continue in after their release.
Bullock was only 4 months away from his release date, hence his placement in a transition program.
Work release transition programs allow offenders to pay for their own incarceration (well over half of their paychecks goes directly to the facility that houses them) while learning how to live in society again with supervision. Transition programs are a better way to release people back to society successfully then just one day opening a cell door and saying “good luck”. Work release programs, when the inmates are properly screened, are good for all of us. FL DOC does not allow inmates who are sex offenders or who have murder charges, among other things, into work release, and an inmate’s conduct in custody must have met certain standards as well. Depending on the charges, inmates may be required to complete a substance abuse program as well before being allowed to do work release.
I’d take any “escape” statistics regarding work release with a grain of salt. It’s technically considered an “escape” if the inmate misses their scheduled return time for any reason, or deviates from where they are allowed to be on their work travel plan. Going inside the library to use the bathroom while waiting for the bus is all it takes. True walk-away escapes, like Bullock’s, are very rare, which is why it has made the news. Like the difference between your kid missing curfew and running away from home.
You can’t treat people like animals for years, put a huge gap in their work history, disrupt their relationships with their familes, give them PTSD, and then expect them to function in a healthy manner in society one day when you throw a switch and demand it. Work release programs give inmates a chance to dip a toe in the water of living in society again before they get thrown in the deep end of the pool, and gives them a foundation to start from when they re-enter society.
Oh yeah, and for all you fiscally responsible conservatives…work release is the cheapest way to house inmates because they contribute to their own expenses and the low security level is cheaper to pay for in the first place. Win-win.
Ashley Quigley says
Please share this story and every story you see about this incident please! My nephew is the 3yo that is with them and we are very worried about him! We have created a page on facebook with current updates and pictures of him. We fear he may be in danger. http://www.facebook.com/bringxanderhome
Oldseadog says
Work Release Program
Pros far outweigh the cons (IMHO) for the taxpayers and for the chosen participants. A few will slip through, but hopefully they will be few and not threats to society.
#bringxanderhome says
Nancy, I appreciate your comment and the info you provided. I am the grandmother of the child that was taken by his mother and this escaped convict and I am praying for the safe return of them all.
Hard Knock Life says
Nancy N, good research on work release. But isn’t it a sad the inmates that get to work a specific job while incarcerated but won’t get that same job when they get out? I would like to know what municipality will put an ex con/felon on their state, city or counties workforce once they’re freed?