Two inmates planned to escape the St. Johns County jail with the help of a drone, but one of the pair ratted out the other. | Courtesy, Google
Published on June 23, 2026 at 4:49 pm
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It was nothing if not bold: Two inmates in the St. Johns County jail called someone on the outside to fly a drone through a broken window in their cell. The plan was for the drone to deliver a saw blade, cellphone and narcotics.
From there, the inmates would dig through the wall and escape, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office says.
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That’s as far as the plan got. The caper collapsed when the inmates argued, and one revealed the escape attempt to deputies last month.
New charges were filed against both inmates for plotting the escape, on top of the charges they already faced.
Joseph Silcott, 20, was charged with attempted escape, conspiracy to commit escape, possession of contraband for escape, conspiracy to introduce contraband for escape into a jail and more. Joseph Izzi, 38, was charged with attempted escape, possession of contraband for escape and conspiracy to commit escape, the Sheriff’s Office said.
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“An escape attempt is something our agency takes very seriously,” Sheriff Rob Hardwick said in a statement. “We will not tolerate inmates attempting to plan an escape or those helping them. The investigation is ongoing, and more charges are forthcoming. Everyone will be held accountable for their actions in St. Johns County.”
The escape plan
Both inmates were already being held without bail on earlier charges. Silcott was charged with armed robbery, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and resisting arrest, the Sheriff’s Office said. Izzi was charged with multiple felonies including human trafficking and child sex crimes.
To escape the county jail on U.S. 1 north of historic St. Augustine, Silcott and Izzi intended to break the toilet and sink off the wall so an exit hole could be carved in the wall. To conceal the work, they planned to make a crude kind of caulk out of toilet paper, soap and toothpaste to hide the damage.
The pair needed more items to pull of the escape, though. To get the drone inside the cell, they broke open the glass window on the outside wall. The outer plastic window also was damaged but still intact on one end, investigators said.
Silcott then learned about Izzi’s human trafficking and child sex charges, and the jail relationship soured, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Silcott threatened Izzi with a homemade knife, telling him to stay in his bunk as he stole items from Izzi, investigators said.
That prompted Izzi to come forward May 16, telling jail staff that Silcott had a weapon and threatened to kill him. Guards separated the inmates and questioned them as others searched the cell.
In the cell, deputies found a number of metal objects, two with sharpened edges that “could be used as weapons,” the Sheriff’s Office said. They also found the damaged sink and toilet, which are normally attached to the wall.
A review of the inmates’ recorded phone calls uncovered the drone plot.
Investigators are searching for any outside accomplices involved in this case.
Previous escape attempts
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office has had relatively few escapes or attempts in recent years.
Four juvenile felony offenders assaulted a guard in October 2024 at the Deep Creek Academy in Hastings, then escaped, only to be taken into custody two miles away.
In April 2023, an inmate on a work squad at the Sheriff’s Office’s Training Center near State Road 16 and Interstate 95 fled and was captured an hour later.
In December 1997, three inmates kicked open a fire door at the St. Johns County jail, scale a barbed wire fence and escaped, only to be caught, officials.
