Escaped Umatilla County inmate back in custody

UMATILLA, Ore.-- A man who was wanted for removing an ankle monitor shortly after posting bond on sex assault charges is back in custody.

According to the Umatilla County Sheriff's Office, Richard Smith posted bond last week, claiming that he had a family member who was dying who he wanted to see.

An ankle monitor was placed on Smith as a condition of his bond, but he quickly cut off the device shortly after his release.

Early Sunday morning, a Umatilla County Sheriff's Deputy was in the city of Weston responding to a separate call, when he spotted a white, GMC Sonoma circling the area.

Once he cleared the original call, the deputy spotted the suspicious SUV parked in the 300 block of Water in Weston. When he ran the license plates, he learned that the vehicle had been reported as stolen from Widner Electric on February 5th.

With the help of Tribal Police, officers searched the area and found Smith on the roof of a house.

Smith initially gave officers a fake name and complained of chest pains.

Medics responded to the scene to checked out the subject, and officers determined that he was Richard Anthony Smith.

Smith was lodged at Umatilla County Jail on charges involving the stolen vehicle, providing false information to law enforcement officers, and multiple outstanding warrants.