Gwinnett County

Prison escapee from Baltimore captured in Gwinnett County (BODYCAM VIDEO)

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A Lilburn police officer knew something wasn’t right when he pulled over to help a man whose car was broken down on the side of the road.

It turned out his instincts were right.

It all started on Monday, when the officer pulled over to help what he thought was just a stranded driver.

The officer said the man was “acting odd” the entire time, so he wasn’t surprised when the man’s ID came back as fake and the car registration was invalid.

The officer said the man, later identified as Donte Cephas, took off when he confronted him. The officer chased Cephas into the woods, and a serious fight ensued.

Officers Charles Johns and Michael Johnson said as they first caught up with Cephas, he kept trying to reach for something in his waistband.

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Cephas ran off again when a Taser didn't hit him, and Johns said Cephas began punching and kicking him in a long, drawn-out fight.

That's when a police dog cornered Cephas.

Police said they later found a loaded .357 Magnum where Cephas fell, along with a ski mask. That wasn't the officers' biggest surprise, either.

“Upon apprehending him, we discovered he was actually an escaped convict from the state of Maryland and had been on the run since March,” Capt. Scott Bennett said.

Cephus is now behind bars.

Both officers suffered broken fingers. Johns left the woods with a bloody face, too.

“You can't let your guard down at any time,” Bennett said.

Records show Cephas has a very long history of gun and robbery offenses.