acenipplelicker
Banned
NEWPORT, Tenn. — Five of six escaped inmates have been arrested following a Christmas Day breakout through a loose toilet that created a hole in the wall, according to police.
On Sunday, the inmates escaped from the Cocke County jail in downtown Newport, Tenn., by removing a loose toilet and then climbing through the hole left in the wall. Cocke County Sheriff Armando Fontes said Monday that a history of repairs and breaks in the jail's plumbing and water lines contributed the system weakening, allowing the inmates to manipulate rusted out areas and weak concrete to get through the walls.
"It's the product of them having nothing to do 24 hours a day for seven days a week except think of how to tear things up and weaknesses within that urinal system that they worked on," he said.
Escaped inmates John Mark Speir, 38, and Steven Edward Lewis, 37, were captured Sunday. Then Eric S. Click, 29, Harce Wade Allen, 28, and John Thomas Shehee, 28, were captured Monday, according to Fontes.
Only David Frazier, 54, remained on the run as of late Monday night. Frazier was being held at the jail on charges of aggravated robbery and unlawful possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. He is described as a white man with brown hair and brown eyes, weighing 160 pounds and 5-feet,11-inches tall.
Fontes said police are "doing everything possible to capture this individual and we will not let up until he is back in custody."
He also said he plans to discuss the jail's infrastructure and the need for repairs with Cocke County Commissioners.
"We've had a lot of issues with the jail and there is a need for a better facility," Fontes said. "We've made repairs when we find things, but it's just one of those things that you don't always know what the problems are. It's definitely an issue that we're going to need to talk about in order to have a safe facility."
On Monday, Shehee's father assisted the Cocke County Sheriff's Department and talked his son into turning himself in. He was being held on charges of arson, criminal trespassing and misdemeanor theft.
Early Monday, Allen was arrested by an undercover narcotics officer with the Cocke County Sheriff's Department in a trailer park just outside the Newport city limits, Fontes said. He was being held on a sentence for violating probation. At the time of his arrest Monday, a second person, Marcus Guy, who was at the same residence but was not an escapee, was also arrested on two outstanding warrants.
Meanwhile, Click was taken into custody around 2:14 p.m. in downtown Newport after Newport Police Officer Amy Gentry spotted him as a passenger in the backseat of a car. Click was being held on charges of evading arrest, possession of scheduled drugs, driving while suspended, joyriding and three probation violations and was taken into custody Monday without any problems, Fontes said. He was being driven out of Cocke County and charges are pending against the other occupants of the car.
Anyone with information on the location of Frazier is asked to call the sheriff's office at 423-623-2064 or the jail at 423-623-6023.
On Sunday, the inmates escaped from the Cocke County jail in downtown Newport, Tenn., by removing a loose toilet and then climbing through the hole left in the wall. Cocke County Sheriff Armando Fontes said Monday that a history of repairs and breaks in the jail's plumbing and water lines contributed the system weakening, allowing the inmates to manipulate rusted out areas and weak concrete to get through the walls.
"It's the product of them having nothing to do 24 hours a day for seven days a week except think of how to tear things up and weaknesses within that urinal system that they worked on," he said.
Escaped inmates John Mark Speir, 38, and Steven Edward Lewis, 37, were captured Sunday. Then Eric S. Click, 29, Harce Wade Allen, 28, and John Thomas Shehee, 28, were captured Monday, according to Fontes.
Only David Frazier, 54, remained on the run as of late Monday night. Frazier was being held at the jail on charges of aggravated robbery and unlawful possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. He is described as a white man with brown hair and brown eyes, weighing 160 pounds and 5-feet,11-inches tall.
Fontes said police are "doing everything possible to capture this individual and we will not let up until he is back in custody."
He also said he plans to discuss the jail's infrastructure and the need for repairs with Cocke County Commissioners.
"We've had a lot of issues with the jail and there is a need for a better facility," Fontes said. "We've made repairs when we find things, but it's just one of those things that you don't always know what the problems are. It's definitely an issue that we're going to need to talk about in order to have a safe facility."
On Monday, Shehee's father assisted the Cocke County Sheriff's Department and talked his son into turning himself in. He was being held on charges of arson, criminal trespassing and misdemeanor theft.
Early Monday, Allen was arrested by an undercover narcotics officer with the Cocke County Sheriff's Department in a trailer park just outside the Newport city limits, Fontes said. He was being held on a sentence for violating probation. At the time of his arrest Monday, a second person, Marcus Guy, who was at the same residence but was not an escapee, was also arrested on two outstanding warrants.
Meanwhile, Click was taken into custody around 2:14 p.m. in downtown Newport after Newport Police Officer Amy Gentry spotted him as a passenger in the backseat of a car. Click was being held on charges of evading arrest, possession of scheduled drugs, driving while suspended, joyriding and three probation violations and was taken into custody Monday without any problems, Fontes said. He was being driven out of Cocke County and charges are pending against the other occupants of the car.
Anyone with information on the location of Frazier is asked to call the sheriff's office at 423-623-2064 or the jail at 423-623-6023.
