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Three Georgia Escapees
Captured in Oklahoma
On October 12, 2004, the final three escapees
from the Montgomery State Prison in Georgia were captured as they attempted
to leave Nichols Grocery Store in Marietta, Oklahoma. They were captured by
members of the US Marshals Dallas/Ft Worth Fugitive Apprehension Strike
Team, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and US Marshals from the
Eastern District of Oklahoma. These agencies were working non-stop in
conjunction with the Georgia Department of Corrections, the US Marshals
Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force (SERFTF), and the US Marshals Office
in the Northern District of Alabama. On
Saturday October 9, 2004 between the hours of 9:00 and 10:00 pm, Joshua
Thompson (20), Joseph Lee (21), Michah Scheer (23), and Tracy Mullins
(30) who were inmates of the Montgomery State Prison in Georgia cut through
the fence and escaped. Investigators from the GA Department of Corrections
and the SERFTF immediately began an intensive nearly 65 hour non-stop search
for the fugitives. Investigators believe that the escapees stole a pickup
truck from nearby and then traveled together to Cobb County, Georgia where
they stole a second vehicle. The second vehicle was a white 1996 Jeep
Cherokee. The fugitives then traveled
to Birmingham, Al area, where investigators believe that the escapees
remained together and committed at least one robbery of an Alabama
residence. Mullins was believed to have been shot during the course of that
robbery. After being shot Mullins was dropped off at a local convenience
store where he was taken to a hospital where he was identified and arrested
and remains unconscious.
Investigators then tracked the fugitives to
the Dallas/Ft Worth area before they fled Texas and headed north on I-35.
Investigators traveling south from Oklahoma City and north from Dallas were
able to converge in Marietta, Oklahoma and safely affect the arrest of the
three escapees. At the time of their capture they were traveling in the
Jeep Cherokee stolen out of Cobb County, Georgia bearing stolen Alabama
license plates. Found in the vehicle at the time of their arrest was a
large amount of blood, several knives, hatchets and assorted burglary tools.
All four escapees had violent criminal
histories with convictions that carried sentences ranging up to eighteen
years.
The SERFTF is sponsored by the United States Marshals Service and is made up
of investigators from 25 Federal, state and local agencies. Since its
inception in September of
2003 the SERFTF has closed over 2600 felony
warrants.
If any additional information is needed please contact Inspector James Ergas
at 404-909-0444 or GA Department of Corrections representative Sherri
Lipscomb at 770-713-0037
www.usmarshals.gov
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