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TEA, S.D. — An inmate accused of attacking a Turner County deputy and stealing his sheriff’s vehicle during a transport has previous charges of aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer.

Tyson Wessels was being returned to the Minnehaha County Jail in Sioux Falls following a court appearance in Turner County Sept. 22. Authorities said he assaulted the deputy transporting him on Interstate 29 and escaped with the patrol vehicle.

Wessels was believed to have abandoned the patrol vehicle and to have stolen two other vehicles while traveling in South Dakota and Minnesota. The second stolen vehicle was found in southwestern Minnesota.

Authorities located the 42-year-old fugitive in Yankton Friday, three days after he escaped. He did not resist arrest.

Before last week’s crimes, Wessels was already wanted on 14 charges in Lincoln County, included aggravated assault against a law enforcement officer and simple assault against a law enforcement officer. He was also wanted in Yankton County for contempt of court and in Clay County for first-degree reckless burning and accessory to a felony.

The sheriff’s deputy who was attacked is recovering. Court records do not list an attorney for Wessels in the most recent case.