UPDATED: Man captured early Saturday morning

Posted on February 8, 2020
Thomas Benge. (Photo McLean County Sheriff’s Office)

By Neil Doyle

BLOOMINGTON – A man who escaped from McLean County Sheriff Police Friday afternoon has been captured.

In a Facebook post, the McLean County Sheriff’s Office said Thomas Benge was taken into custody early Saturday morning.  He faces several charges and is being held in the McLean County jail.

On Friday, the sheriff’s office reported Benge was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence of drugs.  He then fled from officers in the 100 block of West Front Street.

According to our news partner Heart of Illinois ABC Benge has almost 40 entries on his criminal record in McLean County, mostly traffic offenses over the past two decades, according to the circuit clerk’s website. That includes a 5 1/2-year prison sentence for a guilty plea in 2014 to residential burglary.

He has a pending drug case from September of last year.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

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