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| Arkansas escapee apprehended 20 hours after escape |
| By Arkansas Democrat-Gazette |
| Published: 03/02/2001 |
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An inmate who escaped from the Wrightsville Unit on Tuesday evening was caught 20 hours later by an off-duty correctional officer. The fugitive, who fled sometime after an evening chapel service, was strolling down Base Line Road in Little Rock when he was spotted, said prison spokesman Dina Tyler. Asked where he might have been headed, she offered a succinct reply: 'Away.' 'We really don't know at this point,' she added. James Stickley, 35, had been in prison since 1986. He was serving a 55-year sentence for aggravated robbery, having been classified as a habitual offender. The slightly built, heavily tattooed inmate would have been eligible for parole about this time next year. But his night on the lam will likely ruin his chances for an early departure,Tyler noted, adding that Stickley's decision to bolt also has earned him a transfer to the Tucker Maximum Unit. It was the first escape from an Arkansas prison unit since October 1999. Until his escape, Stickley had never been a problem inmate, Tyler said. Prison officials aren't sure how he managed to flee the unit. There is no indication that he scaled the razor-wire fence, which is anchored in concrete. Nor did he cut through it, Tyler said. 'There are no pry marks and no wrinkles in the wire.' Investigators are taking a hard look at two temporary gates on the south side of the unit, Tyler said, explaining that those were put up for construction crews working on new barracks in that area. But officers are present during working hours, and the gates, which also are topped with razor wire, are locked at night, Tyler said. Stickley went to chapel at 6 p.m., where he signed in. He was seen by an officer at 6:30 p.m., and it's possible he was seen again, this time by an inmate, as late as 7:20 p.m., Tyler said. But he didn't make it to the 8 p.m. head count, prompting an all-night search that involved bloodhounds and a state police helicopter. 'We ran the dogs all last night,' Tyler said. 'They hit a scent south of the unit, ran it for about a mile. When they came to a bunch of sloughs and canals, they lost it.' During the manhunt, officers found a tarp in the southeast corner of the compound, which aroused suspicion that it might have been part of Stickley's escape plan, Tyler said. Trackers thought Stickley could have used it to hide under or to throw over the razor wire to protect himself. But it's just as possible that high wind from recent storms blew the tarp over the fence, and it had nothing to do with the escape, Tyler said. 'We're just not sure how he got out,' she added. 'We may never know.' A Wrightsville Unit officer who had just gotten off work spotted Stickley at2 p.m. wandering down Base Line Road. The officer recognized the inmate and called Little Rock police for backup. Tyler said she wasn't sure what Stickley was wearing when he was found. There didn't appear to be any wounds indicating a tangle with razor wire, she added. Stickley was taken into custody without incident, Tyler said. |
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