A Venango County jail inmate accused of striking a jail guard and escaping from UPMC Northwest last month waived his preliminary hearing Wednesday in Central Court.
Bruce William Miller II, 42, will now face further court proceedings on several charges.
Miller was taken to the hospital for medical treatment in the overnight hours of May 19 after injuring himself in his cell in the jail, Franklin state police said.
Miller struck the jail corrections officer as he was in the process of receiving a CT scan in the emergency room at the hospital, then fled from the hospital at about 4:40 a.m. that morning, according to police.
Miller fled east into a wooded area behind the hospital’s transitional care unit, and Franklin state police and other law enforcement agencies canvassed the area for several hours before finding him and taking him into custody at about 1:30 p.m. that day outside Seneca United Methodist Church on East State Road, police said.
Miller was arraigned and returned to the Venango County jail with bail denied due to his being a flight risk and an escapee.
He will now face further court proceedings on charges of escape, aggravated assault-attempts to cause or causes bodily injury to designated individuals, flight to avoid apprehension/trial/punishment and evading arrest or detention on foot.
