The quick thinking of a local store clerk and the quick response by law enforcement resulted in the arrest of three escaped inmates in downtown Newton after they escaped custody of the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement division.
The incident began Tuesday night when the inmates, all from Honduras and identities were not released, allegedly escaped the prisoner transport custody while they were at the Love’s Travel Center in Lake.
Police Chief Randy Patrick said they began assisting with the search when the bulletin went out last night, but the search escalated when they received a call from dispatch.
“One of the store clerks had seen a Hispanic man who had entered the store,” Patrick said. “From the description that they got on the BOLO they had last night about an escapee, they believed it was one of the ones they were looking for in Lake. So after they received that call, we went to the store and tried to locate that subject. But that subject had left and walked down to Hailey's (Hardware) and also at the Quick Sakim, where one of my captains had went and apprehended that suspect that was there. Once that suspect was apprehended, one of the guys from the sheriff's department showed up on scene to help Capt. (McKenzie) Patrick subdue that person.”
After taking the suspect into custody, Patrick said they communicated with him and were able to determine that the other two suspects were nearby sitting behind the depot, where they were apprehended without incident.
No one was injured in the incident. ICE officers then took the escapees into federal custody.
Patrick said he credited the arrest to the cooperation between his officers, other agencies and the general public, and has helped improve the outlook of his officers after a difficult week.
“The morale has been boosted greatly, and it can only get better if everybody was to just cooperate together, work together as a team, because without teamwork, we can't get nothing done. Again, I'll reiterate, we're only as good as the public will allow us to be. If the public shares the information, get it out there. So that way, people should not be afraid to say something [for fear of] retaliation. It is got to stop somewhere.”
Agencies that assisted were Scott County Sheriff’s Office, Newton Sheriff’s Office, Mississippi Highway Patrol, Rankin County Sheriff’s Office, ICE, Homeland Security Investigations and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks game wardens.
