Prison escapee captured in Vegas

LAS VEGAS - An escaped Carson City prison inmate was captured Tuesday in Las Vegas, three days after his story and photo were aired on a national television broadcast.

Jody Kenneth Thompson was arrested Tuesday by members of the U.S. Marshal Service and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's SWAT team.

According to a Marshal Service press release, an anonymous tipster led authorities to an apartment in the 3900 block of Mountain Vista Street. As investigators from both departments closed in on the address, Thompson allegedly fled and ran to a nearby residence where he forced entry and attempted to hide. Thompson was found a short time later and placed under arrest without further incident.

Thompson allegedly mastered a prison break "fueled by love and a free ride," said District of Nevada Acting United States Marshal Fidencio Rivera.

On the morning of Aug. 25, Thompson and others who were serving their sentences at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center on Snyder Avenue were assigned to load furniture onto a delivery truck going to the Lovelock Correctional Center. At approximately 8:30 a.m. the delivery truck departed NNCC. At approximately 11:30 a.m., Thompson was unaccounted for and believed to have escaped on the truck.

"Ironically he escaped with the assistance of Nevada Department of Corrections employee and love interest Ana Kastner," Rivera said.

Kastner allegedly smuggled a cell phone into the prison and gave it to Thompson on or about Aug. 13, two weeks prior to his escape. Their alleged romantic relationship and her involvement were discovered during the investigation into Thompson's escape. She was arrested on Aug. 27.

He was featured on Fox Network's America's Most Wanted television program Saturday.