Two inmates who escaped a Tennessee prison arrested in South Florida

Two inmates who escaped from a prison in Tennessee were arrested in Pompano Beach Sunday night, officials said.

According to the Tennessee Department of Corrections, Robert Lee Brown and Christopher Osteen were arrested by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Marshals Service after the two absconded from Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville on Friday.

Brown, 36, was serving an 18-year sentence for aggravated rape, and Osteen, 34, was serving an eight-year sentence for burglary. Brown’s sentence was set to expire in 2022 and Osteen’s was set to expire in 2023.

“Brown and Osteen are suspected of kidnapping a Fulton County Kentucky Highway Department employee and stealing his truck. Both men are also being investigated by Henry County authorities for allegedly kidnapping a man early Saturday morning and stealing his pickup truck,” the Tennessee Department of Corrections said in a statement. “The inmates will be returned to [Tennessee Department of Corrections] custody and housed at an appropriate facility.”

This story was originally published December 13, 2020 at 11:02 PM.

Monique O. Madan

Miami Herald

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Monique O. Madan covers immigration and enterprise; she previously covered breaking news and local government. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald and The Dallas Morning News. In 2019 she was a Reveal Fellow at the Center for Investigative Reporting. She’s a graduate of Harvard University, Emerson College and The Honors College at Miami Dade College. A note to tipsters: If you want to send Monique confidential information, her email and mailbox are open. You can find all her stories here: moniqueomadan.com. You can also direct message her on social media and she’ll provide encrypted Signal details. Support my work with a digital subscription