Inmate Phone Terminal Thief Caught At Penn Square Mall

A wanted man is behind bars, accused of embezzling more than $40,000 from the Oklahoma County jail.

Deputies said he worked for the jail's inmate telephone company and simply walked out with the cash.

Oklahoma County Sheriff deputies tracked down 65-year-old Thomas Caldwell in the parking lot of Penn Square Mall after cell phone records placed him at that exact spot.

But a representative with the sheriff's office said when they tried to approach him, he pulled a gun, and stuck it to his head. Deputies were able to convince him to give up peacefully.

Caldwell kept his head down low as he was walked back into the Oklahoma County jail. This was a walk of shame of sorts, since he used to make this trek as a free man several times a week.

This time, he was led back here in handcuffs, after being on the run for more than a week with more than $40,000 in cash.

3/11/2014 Related Story: OK Deputies Arrest Man Accused Of Stealing From Inmate Phone Terminals

"He did admit to taking the money," said Mark Myers with the Oklahoma County Sheriff's office. "But as of yet, we have not recovered the bulk of that cash."

There was surveillance video released by the sheriff's office that shows Caldwell showing up for work on March 3, 2014, the day of the incident.

You can see Caldwell emptying the machines and putting the cash into a bag and then walking out with that bag.

The money came from these inmate telephone terminals, which families use to talk with their incarcerated loved ones.They are run by Telmate, a vendor of the jail, who employed Caldwell until he took their money and ran.

So where did he go with all that cash?

3/7/2014 Related Story: WANTED: Man Accused Of Stealing More Than $40,000.00 From Inmate Phone Service

"He told our deputies a story that he'd flown out to Las Vegas and blown it all in Vegas," said Myers. "So is that true or not? We don't know; we're still in the process of investigating and trying to figure out if we can recover any of that money."

It all came to an end in the Penn Square Mall parking lot in northwest Oklahoma City, when deputies approached him and told him the gig was up. It ended in a standoff when Caldwell pulled a gun on himself.

"It was a very tense few moments there, cause the deputies spoke with him for about 5 minutes trying to get him to put down that weapon," said Myers. "Ultimately, he did put down that weapon, and they were able to take him into custody."

Right now, Caldwell is still in the Oklahoma County Jail on $26,000 bond.

Caldwell faces multiple counts of embezzlement and could also face a count for being a fugitive from justice.