KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — UPDATE MONDAY: Sean Williams, the fugitive facing multiple sex charges in East Tennessee, has begun his journey from Florida to face prosecution here.
The U.S. Marshals Service picked him up Monday morning from the Pinellas County, Fla., Jail, records show. He'd been there since last week, when authorities caught him in a Tampa area convenience store after about a month on the run.
David Jolley, U.S. marshal for the Eastern District of Tennessee, said Williams likely will face a multi-day trip before finally coming back to Tennessee. The service handles federal prisoner transports with its own network called the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System.
He's expected to be taken to a facility and await the "next scheduled drop" here to East Tennessee, Jolley said.
It can take several days, the marshal said.
Williams, who has a history of escapes and escape attempts, faces federal charges in Greeneville and state charges in Washington County.
Authorities have described him as a dangerous predator who has targeted women in particular. He lived primarily in the Tri Cities area.
PREVIOUS STORY: U.S. marshals and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Tuesday evening that a man was taken into custody following a monthlong manhunt after he escaped from a prisoner transport van in East Tennessee.
Sean Williams was originally in federal custody on three counts of production of child sexual abuse material and a count of distributing cocaine. He escaped on Oct. 18 as he was being transported from a Laurel County prison to the Greeneville courthouse. Authorities previously said the camera in the transport van wasn't working and he had left through a broken back window.
On Nov. 21, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said he was spotted near Tampa, in Pinellas County. The alert came a few days after the TBI said he was spotted in Sylva, North Carolina.
David Jolley, a U.S. Marshal, confirmed Williams was taken into custody on Tuesday. According to the FBI, he was apprehended after a K-9 officer and his partner tracked him down. NBC affiliate WCYB reported Williams had stolen a car in Greeneville a few days ago, while led authorities to search for him in Florida.
WCYB said after an officer spotted the car, a pursuit began and Williams bailed out the car before running away while police chased him in Florida. WCYB also reported a Florida convenience store worker recognized Williams from news coverage while he was buying a hot dog, tipping off police.
He said before the most recent escape from the prison van, Williams was being kept in Kentucky following a separate escape attempt in Washington County.
During the manhunt, he also warned that Williams was considered dangerous. Williams was on the run for a total of 34 days before he was found in Pinellas County. The county is located along Florida's western shore near Tampa and includes areas like St. Petersburg and Clearwater.
There was a combined reward of up to $7,500 from the U.S. Marshals Service and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for information that led to his arrest.
Williams was wanted on numerous charges before his prison van escape that dated back years ago, including child rape, aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and aggravated sexual battery.
Jolley described Williams as a "predator of a human being."
"I heard someone describe him earlier -- he has this very 'Ted Bundy' personality. He definitely is a very dangerous kind of human being and the kind of person we are all happy to know has been arrested and is back in custody," Jolley said.
Jolley said Williams will eventually be extradited back to Tennessee to face charges.
Before Williams escaped the prison van, Jolley said Williams had been wanted for nearly two years on federal charges before he was initially captured a few months ago.
Authorities had been investigating Williams for years, and Jolley said Williams was found in possession of several videos of women he had sexually attacked.
Jolley said they are still piecing together Williams' movements after he escaped from the prison van on Oct. 18 to get a good picture of everything he did while on the run. U.S. Marshals said Williams operated in a "transient manner" out of Greeneville, Tennessee for the past month, and they believe he was probably there until Nov. 17 before heading to North Carolina and Florida.
Jolley believes search teams, which included dogs and drones, were likely "very close" to Williams numerous times as he slipped by them.
"He was a pretty slippery guy, really," Jolley said. "There are a good number of transients in that particular area that kind of live in the woods and live in some of these old abandoned houses and things, and he was able to kind of mix and mingle into that area."
Investigators said they were "extremely happy" to have a man like Williams back into custody.
"We certainly don't want a guy like him back out on the streets," Jolley said. "Our team can rest easy for Thanksgiving without having to work on a holiday and, you know, they'll have an opportunity now to grab a little rest and be with their families over these next few days."