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| One Escaped Ind. Inmate Sought; One Captured |
| By Indianapolis Star |
| Published: 12/20/2002 |
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Authorities in Boone County continued searching Tuesday for an escaped jail inmate after capturing his partner in a high-speed car chase. Sheriff's deputies jailed Franklin F. Schoff Jr., 18, after a 40-minute pursuit through the countryside that ended about 2 p.m. just outside Sheridan, said Lebanon Police Lt. Brent Wheat. Schoff was being held in the Boone County Jail on preliminary charges of auto theft and resisting law enforcement. Other charges were pending, Wheat said. Meanwhile, Douglas King, 34, remained at large, authorities said. Investigators believe he is in Boone County, Wheat said. Police allege that Schoff and King escaped Tuesday from a police wagon and fled in a sport utility vehicle they stole from a woman in a fast-food restaurant drive-through line, Wheat said. By early afternoon, the pair were in Lebanon, looking for another vehicle, police said. Police apprehended Schoff after he allegedly stole a red Pontiac Trans Am from J&M Auto in Lebanon about 1:20 p.m. 'He was acting like he was going to buy the car,' Wheat said. 'The salesman let him start the car to listen to the engine, and he took off.' Lebanon Police Sgt. Mark Tibbs, who was one block away, began following the Trans Am. Tibbs attempted to stop the car on I-65, but it accelerated and the chase was on. Eventually, about 20 officers from four agencies joined the pursuit. Police tried unsuccessfully to use tire-deflating devices. Meanwhile, Indiana State Police troopers brought in a helicopter to track the vehicle. Authorities said Schoff exited the highway, drove down country roads and through pastures, knocking over several fences, before he finally crashed the car in a ditch near county roads 1100 East and 400 North. Several squad cars were damaged in the chase, police said. The incident started when LaPorte County deputies were taking Schoff and King to court appearances in Michigan City. Apparently a relative gave one of them a handcuff key, with which they freed themselves, Wheat said. Schoff was in jail on a charge of possession of stolen property, while King faced a charge of failure to appear in court on a check fraud charge. |
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