A Clayton County detainee is back in custody Thursday after making a daring escape from a secure transfer area at the jail and spending hours on the run, authorities said.

Nigiel Lee, 22, was taken to the facility Wednesday evening after being arrested on several felony charges, including home invasion and aggravated assault, Clayton police said in a statement. While in the sally port area, and with multiple law enforcement officers present, police said Lee made a break for it.

He jumped on top of multiple police vehicles before scaling wired fencing and escaping around 9 p.m., according to police. It was not clear how Lee was able get away from the officers, and police did not say if he had been handcuffed.

After two hours of searching, a K-9 unit tracked him to an area about two miles away on Whaley’s Lake Drive. The police department said they had utilized “all resources” to bring him back into custody.

The agency told Channel 2 Action News that Lee had also been wanted in DeKalb County on multiple charges, including kidnapping and robbery by sudden snatching. He also faces charges of family violence in DeKalb and Alabama, the news station reported.

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In 2022, Georgia Power projected its winter peak electricity demand would grow by about 400 megawatts by 2031. Since then, Georgia has experienced a boom of data centers, which require a large load of electricty to run, and Georgia Power's recent forecast shows peak demand growing by 20 times the 400-megawatt estimate from just three years ago. (Illustration by Philip Robibero/AJC)

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