OGDEN, Utah — A man who police say escaped from Weber County Jail Tuesday night by disguising himself as a fellow inmate was captured Friday afternoon in Idaho.
According to the Weber County Sheriff's Office, Kaleb Wiewandt escaped by posing as Matthew Belnap, who was scheduled to be released that night. Wiewandt reportedly shaved his head, had Belnap's jail ID card, and provided jail staff with Belnap's full name, date of birth and Social Security number from memory.
The sheriff's office said Wednesday they still believed Wiewandt, who was in jail on suspicion of identity theft and bank fraud, was still in the Ogden area but may be headed to California.
He was arrested Friday around 3 p.m. in Mountain Home, Idaho by a U.S. Marshals Service Violent Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team, although authorities initially said Wiewandt did not pose a threat to the public as his alleged crimes were nonviolent.
The strike team had tracked a vehicle that he was a passenger in to southern Idaho, where Idaho State troopers and Elmore County deputies executed a traffic stop and took Wiewandt into custody.
Belnap was charged with obstructing justice, along with aiding and abetting an escape from official custody. Court documents state that on surveillance video, Belnap can be seen lying on his bed and not getting up when he was called over the speaker system to collect his property for his release. The documents also state that he helped Wiewandt shave his head the day before the escape.
