MONTICELLO — Nearly a year after an Arm man escaped from theLawrence County Jail, he is back behind bars here.

Norman Dewayne “Wayne” Hardy, 41, was captured Monday at hisfamily’s home.

“We received information that he was back in the county,” saidSheriff Joel Thames. “Based on that information, we obtained asearch warrant and searched his mother’s house.”

Hardy escaped from the old jail at 3:50 p.m. on July 31, 1999,while on yard call, which gives inmates time outdoors within afenced area. Hardy climbed a 10-foot fence and fled into the PearlRiver. An immediate, small-scale manhunt by local law enforcementagencies and volunteers failed to locate him, and it was believedat the time that he fled the county. The escape occurred duringSheriff William Mullins administration.

Hardy, who was being held on DUI, seat belt violation and verbalabuse of an officer charges for the Mississippi Highway Patrol, wasnot considered dangerous. He was also being held for Virginia on acharge of malicious wounding, which is equivalent to aggravatedassault under Mississippi laws. Thames said Lawrence County has nowadded a charge of escape to the list.

Hardy remained in the Southeast, Thames said, working inLouisiana and offshore.