Escapee’s freedom short-lived

By Lilly Adkins
BSN Associate Editor

NIPPA — The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, along with city officers and volunteer firefighters, recaptured an escapee within 31 minutes of being notified Friday that he had fled while being transported from Martin County to the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center. Joshua Scott, 33, of Inez, was served with a warrant for another police agency charging him with drug paraphernalia-buy/possess and first-degree possession of a controlled substance. He is additionally charged with second-degree escape, second-degree disorderly conduct and third-degree criminal trespassing. Johnson County Sheriff Doug Saylor said Friday that Scott had managed to exit the transport vehicle by reaching outside of a lowered window after slipping a handcuff off one of his hands. “They were in the Rt. 1559 and US 23 area, near the Zip Zone,” Saylor said. “While searching the immediate area, Paintsville/Johnson County 911 dispatch received a call from a W.R. Castle volunteer firefighter that he had located the male subject in the backyard area of his residence.”
Saylor said his office and the Paintsville Police Department immediately responded to the location and took Scott into custody. “This is another example of how agencies and citizens can work together to protect our communities,” Saylor said.