Bradenton inmate cut off ankle monitor, deputies say. She was arrested 250 miles away
When Erika Garcia showed up at Anna Maria Oyster Bar on July 14 as part of a work release program, no one knew she would leave the restaurant without her ankle monitor.
No one except for her co-worker and community center roommate Taylor Lawrance, who detectives say helped her escape, throwing the ankle monitor into the bushes in the process.
Five days later, Garcia would be arrested almost 250 miles away in Jacksonville, where she is being held in the Duval County Jail for an out-of-county warrant, an arrest report shows.
Garcia, 35, and the 23-year-old Lawrance had been roommates at the Bradenton chapter of Bridges International, also known as Bridges of America, a Florida Department of Corrections Community Release Center founded by ex-felon Frank Constantino with the goal to “bridge the gap between incarceration and community re-entry,” its website reads.
These types of centers “allow inmates to obtain gainful employment, establish a path to successful re-entry into the community and implement habits conducive to a productive lifestyle,” the Florida Department of Corrections told the Bradenton Herald in an email Tuesday afternoon.
Participation in these centers is voluntary and initiated by the inmate, they said.
Bradenton inmate escapes ankle monitor
Garcia had been at the center for around eight weeks, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said, with eight months remaining of a two-year sentence for possession of methamphetamine.
But detectives say she didn’t stick around to finish her sentence.
Garcia and Lawrance could be seen in security camera footage sitting behind the Anna Maria Oyster Bar on University Parkway where they worked, according to a probable cause affidavit, when they both walked through the back door and Garcia exited with a large kitchen knife in her hand. Moments later, detectives say Lawrance exited the restaurant with a kitchen towel.
Both women then allegedly walked under the roof access ladder to the business where Lawrance helped remove Garcia’s ankle monitor, detectives say. Lawrance then took the knife and began cleaning it off with the towel before throwing the monitor in the bushes near Honore Avenue behind the business, according to the affidavit.
Detectives say Garcia then left the business, while Lawrance “concealed the crime until after Garcia had left the area before notifying her manager.”
The removal of the ankle monitor also alerted Bridges of America staff, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said.
Accomplice also faces charges, deputies say
When Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Dwight Roberts arrived at the Anna Maria Oyster Bar to investigate Garcia’s escape, he said Lawrance tried to minimize her involvement, saying that she tried to convince Garcia not to leave. When confronted with the evidence, Roberts said that Lawrance denied helpingGarcia, although Lawrance later said she did bring the towel out because Garcia cut herself while attempting to remove the ankle monitor.
However, based on interviews and camera footage, the deputy arrested Lawrance for aiding an escape.
Following Garcia’s escape, the Florida Department of Corrections was notified and an arrest warrant was issued by Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
Days later on July 19, the Jacksonville County Sheriff’s Office learned that Garcia was staying at a house in Duval County and sent detectives to make contact with the homeowner, who confirmed to them that she was inside. They then spoke with Garcia, who surrendered without incident, detectives said in an arrest report.
Garcia was arrested and is now facing a second-degree felony for escaping, according to Duval County Clerk of Court records.
Lawrance was booked into Manatee County Jail and is now facing a third-degree felony for aiding to escape. She had previously been arrested in Polk County in 2015 for robbery with a firearm, assault armed burglary and unlawful use of a two-way communication device and was given a 25-year prison sentence, according to court records.
