Ex-inmate suffers serious injuries trying to get back into Brevard jail

BY KAUSTUV BASU • FLORIDA TODAY • September 1, 2009

The concertina wire that surrounds the Brevard County Detention Center in Sharpes is designed to prevent inmates from escaping.

But Monday night, someone tried to break into the jail compound by climbing the fences and suffered severe injuries.

The sequence of events began about 8 p.m. at the Camp Road facility when, according to the sheriff's office, 24-year-old Sylvester Jiles of Cocoa showed up at the front gate and asked to be taken into custody.

"He told the people at the jail that he was fearful for his life," said Maj. Greg Purden of the sheriff's office.

Jiles had been released from jail Friday after accepting a plea deal on a manslaughter charge. He pleaded guilty to fatally shooting Dustin Prouse, 19, in February 2007.

On Monday, jail officials told Jiles they could not take him in. They told him to file a police report about the threats he was receiving.

Instead, Jiles climbed the 12-foot wire fence at the west corner of the jail grounds, then ran to a second fence topped with razor-sharp concertina wire. While attempting to do so, he fell and severely injured himself.

"Anything that touches those wires is ripped to pieces. He suffered severe, life-threatening injuries," Purden said.

Jiles was taken to Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, where his condition is unknown at this time.