JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville mother is pleading for her son to turn himself into police, a week after he escaped from being holed up in a home by the SWAT team.
Police said Cornelius Mann, 33, was involved in an armed robbery and is armed and dangerous.
They said he was hiding in a Westside home on Cantauri Road last week, and officers thought they cornered him there during a six-hour standoff but he escaped.
Patria Reeves, Mann's mother, said Friday she doesn't know where her son is, but he isn't armed and dangerous.
She said she wants her son to turn himself in before police find him.
"I prefer him to be locked up than dead," Reeves said.
Officers fired tear gas into the home during the standoff. Police said Mann did not own the house.
"When I got there the house was surrounded," Reeves said. "They had dogs, and the next thing I know SWAT came up. They had snipers. You would have thought he murdered somebody, he literally murdered somebody. I've never seen that many police for one person."
Mann's mom said her son served time for armed robbery in the past. But she believes her son is innocent in this case.
She said she believes men working to repair her son's truck are to blame for the armed robbery and that her son had nothing to do with the events that led up to the standoff.
Police describe Mann as 5 feet 7 inches tall and say he should be considered armed and dangerous.
Mann's mother said her son is not.
"I have not seen him with a gun," Reeves said. "No gun in the house, no gun in front of the kids, none of this stuff. It's like shocking to me."
Mann is the father of five children ranging in age from 4 months to 17 years old.
She said her son turned his life around and has been working as a carpenter. She's fearing the worst if her son doesn't surrender.
Reeves said she has two family friends to help Mann go to police.
"If they catch him, it's not going to turn out good, not after what I saw," Reeves said.
That's why Reeves has one message for her son.
"I would tell him, 'I love you. I need for you to turn yourself in so I can help you,'" Reeves said.
Anyone who knows anything about Mann and where he is can call Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous and could be eligible for a cash reward.