On Aug. 3, a Tampa man housed in a secure mental health facility tapped an employee code into a door that separates residents from the public, stole a key card from a worker at the front desk, unlocked the rear exit door and disappeared into the night.
It would be six days before authorities found him and took him into custody.
Dallas Dishman Jr., 36, was transferred to the Ibis Healthcare facility, at 5705 N. 22nd St., from jail in May. A judge ordered the placement after a court-appointed expert deemed him mentally incompetent to stand trial.
Dishman was arrested in May 2024 on charges including drug trafficking, fleeing to elude law enforcement and failure to register as a career offender. Court records show he has a lengthy criminal history in Hillsborough, including charges of aggravated assault, burglary and grand theft.
Dallas Dishman Jr. is seen in a photo released by the Tampa Police Department on Aug. 3 after Dishman escaped from a secure mental health center on Henry Avenue.
An arrest affidavit made public this week sheds light on the details surrounding Dishman’s escape from the mental health facility, which is on the southeast corner of 22nd Street and Henry Avenue.
Just before 8 p.m. that day, Dishman entered an employee code into the first exit door and propped it open, according to the affidavit.
He approached a female worker at the staff desk and stole a personnel card from her waist when she turned away from him, the affidavit states. He ran back through the door he propped open and used the card to unlock the rear exit door. He then closed the door behind him, locking the employees inside.
His actions were recorded on the building’s security camera, the affidavit states. He took off on foot wearing a blue sweatshirt and gray sweatpants.
Two hours later, the Tampa Police Department announced that they were searching for Dishman. His whereabouts were unknown until Sunday, when Hillsborough deputies found him inside a 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee in Plant City.
When deputies stopped the car at 6:30 p.m., Dishman was sitting in the rear driver-side passenger seat, according to the affidavit. A deputy wrote in the report that he saw Dishman make “furtive movements toward his feet” while getting out. Deputies later found a plastic bag of methamphetamine on the floor near Dishman’s seat.
Dishman was charged with possession of a controlled substance in addition to robbery by sudden snatching and escape from a civil or forensic facility. He had 18 outstanding warrants prior to the three recent charges.
His attorney filed to withdraw from his pending cases three days after the escape, court records show. A judge granted the motion the next day.
In a statement announcing Dishman’s arrest, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office called him a “dangerous fugitive.”
The agency did not respond to questions about how deputies tracked Dishman in the Jeep or how many other occupants were inside, citing the active investigation.
Ibis Healthcare did not respond to calls seeking comment about how Dishman got the employee code or whether any preventative measures have been put in place since his escape.
Dishman was being held without bond Wednesday at the Falkenburg Road Jail, records show.