BATON ROUGE, La. – A work-release inmate’s escape ended in sheer terror when he found himself stranded on Siegen Lane, an area so notorious for crime and vagrancy that he called 911 and begged to be taken back to prison.

Authorities say the inmate walked off his job site after being fired, only to end up navigating a gauntlet of panhandlers, unlicensed parking attendants, and what one witness described as a “traveling pawn shop” outside the Motel 6.

“He was pacing near a Waffle House, gripping a half-empty Gatorade bottle like it was a weapon,” said one officer. “Looked like he’d seen things.”

Deputies found him near a gas station, nervously declining an offer to buy “real Gucci cologne” from a man with no shoes. He surrendered immediately, telling officers, “Prison has rules. Siegen don’t.”

Authorities say he’s already adjusted back to life behind bars, telling cellmates, “At least in here, the walls keep the crazies out.”