By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Reporter
A Pensacola man who showed up at the Escambia County Courthouse on June 6 for the results of a paternity test, was arrested twice, including once inside the courthouse, after he was recognized as the subject of outstanding criminal complaints.
Sheriff’s reports show that 23-year-old Kylle Nicholas Cota, who had filed a petition to establish paternity of a child, was arrested inside the courtroom after lawmen confirmed that he was wanted by Atmore police on charges of felony and misdemeanor theft of property.
Cota’s afternoon continued to deteriorate after he decided to make a run for it.
According to reports, while awaiting transfer to the county jail the handcuffed Florida man hurriedly concocted a plan that he hoped would bring an upswing in his fortune. His plan worked, but only for a few minutes.
Cota reportedly ran from the inmate transport area and crawled under a Brewton barbecue restaurant, where he was able to shuck the metal restraints. He then ran into a nearby business and reportedly ordered employees there to shut the door, explaining that he was “running from the police.”
Brewton PD officers were able to take the hard-luck escapee into custody without incident within a relatively short period.
APD Chief Chuck Brooks said the situation created an opportunity that local lawmen couldn’t pass up.
“Absolutely,” Brooks said. “The opportunity arose, and we took advantage of it. We found out he was there (at the courthouse), so we contacted the deputies and had them arrest him.”
The warrants filed against Cota allege that he used fake documents to take money from the checking account of a woman with whom he was “in a dating-type relationship,” added Brooks, who did not say how much money was reportedly taken.
ECSO’s second-in-command, Capt. Billy Blair, reported that the brief escape only brought Cota more grief, as additional charges of escape, theft (of the ECSO handcuffs) and identity theft (providing a false name to officers) were tacked on to the Atmore theft charges.
An employee of the Escambia County Detention center’s booking and release division reported Monday that Cota remained behind bars as the week started. He is being held under total bonds of $75,000.
Information was not immediately available as to the result of the paternity test.