Police search for inmate who escaped from volunteer work outside CentrePeace | Centre Daily Times

State police at Rockview are searching for a Centre County Correctional Facility inmate who ran away from an outside work assignment Thursday afternoon.

Police said Larry Allen Thomas, 40, had been assigned work trimming grass outside of the CentrePeace building on Benner Pike.

Thomas was last seen operating a weed trimmer on Fishburn Hill Road around 1:45 p.m. About a half hour later, a supervisor found the weed trimmer on the ground. Thomas’ orange prison jumpsuit was found under an outside home heating oil tank.

Police said Thomas had recently received correspondence that gave him concern for his fiancee and daughter. He submitted a furlough request to tend to the situation.

Two days later, according to police, he told prison officials he was feeling better and that he wanted to continue as an outside volunteer worker at CentrePeace.

He is described as being 5 feet, 6 inches tall, weighing 200 pounds with brown hair, green eyes and a goatee. He speaks with a Southern accent, police said.

He may be wearing a white T-shirt or an orange sweatshirt.

Thomas was sentenced in September to serve 11 months to 23 months in Centre County Correctional Facility followed by five years probation for illegally possessing a firearm, according to court documents.

He pleaded guilty to that charge, a felony, and to summary counts of unlawfully killing/taking big game in closed season, unlawful use of artificial light and unlawful possession of a loaded firearm in a vehicle.

Anyone with information can contact Rockview state police at 355-7545.