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Fugitive caught 2 hours after escape |
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Thursday, 05 November 2009 |
By BRIAN HAWKINS
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Quick thinking by an Oktibbeha County sheriff’s deputy resulted in the quick apprehension of a murder suspect who was on the run after escaping from the Chickasaw County Jail.
Michael Ellis, 27, of Corinth was back in custody about two hours after he escaped from Chickasaw County authorities, stealing multiple guns and an unused deputy’s uniform from an evidence room as he made his getaway from the jail there. Ellis was apprehended by Deputy Tim Cook after he pulled Ellis over on Highway 15 in Maben about 11 p.m. Tuesday.
“He had only been on the run for a couple of hours, but we had him back in custody before a large scale search party got out to hunt for him,” said Oktibbeha County Sheriff Dolph Bryan Wednesday afternoon. “Kudos to Tim Cook. He did a real good job.”
Ellis is wanted in connection with a murder in Illinois in which he and a man are accused of beating a man to death several days ago. Ellis had been on the run for about three days when he was arrested in Chickasaw County after running a police roadblock, according to an Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Department report written by Cook.
Ellis escaped from the Chicksaw County Jail sometime around 9 p.m. Tuesday, and E-911 operators relayed an alert by radio to Oktibbeha sheriff’s deputies and Starkville police about the escape about 9:30 p.m., Cook’s report states.
Cook, who worked in Chickasaw County before joining local law enforcement agencies, contacted deputies there by telephone and learned that Ellis may have stolen a vehicle and might be traveling on Highway 15, which connects Maben to Houston, which is the Chickasaw County seat.
“I then made my way to Maben and was sitting stationary on Highway 15, and around 2300 (11 p.m.), I noticed a white S-10 (Chevrolet pickup) with one headlight out and a white male driving it pass by me,” Cook writes in his report.
Cook, his suspicions aroused, quickly pulled the pickup over. As he approached the driver — who would soon be identified as Ellis — Cook noticed he appeared nervous and did not have any identification with him.
The driver gave Cook some identifying information, but upon running a check with E-911 operators, it was found to be false, reports state. The man then told Cook he was from Illinois.
Telling the man to wait, Cook went to see if he could get a picture of the Chickasaw County escapee e-mailed to him. Maben Police Chief Stan Modelewski then pulled up and recognized the pickup’s driver as the escapee, and Modelewski and Cook immediately arrested him upon verifying his identity as Ellis.
Cook and Modelewski, after getting Ellis out of the pickup, saw multiple handguns and bullet clips on the passenger seat, with at least one of the guns being loaded, Cook’s report states.
Answering a question from Cook, Ellis said he intended to sell the guns to get some money, but did not intend to use them, Cook’s report states.
Ellis said he had also dodged a roadblock in Webster County just prior to being stopped by Cook, reports state.
Ellis said he had taken the pickup after running through a wooded area near the Chickasaw County Jail and spotting it parked near a home workshop.
Ellis was turned back over to Chickasaw County deputies a short time later.
On Wednesday, Bryan said Ellis’ arrest could have been a potentially violent situation.
“With that many guns, you wondered what he was going to do,” said Bryan. “This ended up being a good arrest. Tim did a good job.”
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 07 November 2009 )
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