Timothy Collins, 24, and Brad Sims, 27, were captured after being stopped during a routine traffic stop on Interstate 40 by Roland Lt. Richard Jasna, Major Cindy Smith said.
The men escaped Monday night from the William S. Key Correctional Facility, a minimum-security prison located at Fort Supply in western Oklahoma, and were on their way out of Oklahoma, Smith said.
Smith said Collins told her that if they were given a few more minutes, they would have been in Arkansas, where they had clothing waiting for them.
"Apparently they had a contact there," Smith said.
Smith said Jasna ran the tag on the vehicle around 8:50 a.m. and discovered that the 1986 vehicle was stolen from Del City. Smith said the statewide computer system that the department utilizes to gather information was down, and the department didn't know about the escapees at the time.
Smith said the men first gave police the false names of Jeremy Brown and Thomas Green, and denied having Social Security numbers. They also gave conflicting dates of birth and they had no proofs of identification.
She said the department conducted an inventory of the vehicle, and found four loaded rifles. Jasna was assisted by Officer Jerry Foley.
Smith said on the back of Collins thermal shirt was the word "inmate," yet Collins denied being in jail.
"He said it came from a friend," Smith said.
After making phone calls, the officers discovered the inmates had escaped.
Rick Cullins, public information officer for the correctional facility, said Collins is serving 10 years for possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute, and Sims is serving seven years for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
Cullins said the inmates were discovered missed after an 8 p.m. check.
"They decided to leave our fine facility," Cullins said.
Cullins said since the prison is minimum security, the inmates just walked off. The men then walked several miles down the road and stole a farm truck, which was full of diesel and had various weapons inside. They drove it until it ran out of gas in Del City, Cullins said. Cullins said the men then took the weapons with them when they stole the vehicle that was stopped in Roland.
"The weapons concerned us," Cullins said. "Especially since the firearms are worth money."
Cullins said the majority of inmates at the prison don't want to run the risk of getting more time by trying to escape. He said that Collins had only been at the prison for two months, while Sims had been incarcerated since 1999 and had just several more years left on his prison sentence.
"Most won't jeopardize it," Cullins said. "It costs them in so many ways."
