Inmates Captured

TIPTONVILLE – The two inmates who escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex/Minimum Security Annex have been arrested in Pompano Beach, Florida and are now in police custody.  Robert Lee Brown and Christopher Osteen were taken into custody by the Broward County Florida Sheriff’s Department, the U.S. Marshals Service, and other local and federal law enforcement agencies three days after leaving the facility in Tiptonville.

Brown, 36, was serving an 18-year sentence for Aggravated Rape out of Putnam County. His sentence was set to expire in 2022.  Christopher Osteen, 34, was serving an 8-year sentence for Burglary out of Madison County.  His sentence 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 Department of Correction’s Office of Investigations and Conduct will continue to work with other agencies to investigate this incident and bring additional charges, where appropriate.  The inmates will be returned to TDOC custody and housed at an appropriate facility.

TDOC in conjunction with Tennessee Highway Patrol, US Marshals Service, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, FBI, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Lake County Sheriff, Obion County Sheriff, Jackson Police Department, Martin Police Department, Weakley County Sheriff, Henry County Sheriff, Kentucky State Police, and Fulton County Kentucky Sheriff had been working around the clock searching for the inmates.