Escapee Found A Day After Bailing Out Of Police Vehicle On Interstate
Deputies from Yalobusha County responded to I-55 near Oakland after an inmate who escaped Monday night was found Tuesday afternoon.
By David Howell
Editor
OAKLAND – An Oakland man was back in custody Tuesday afternoon after he escaped from a Tallahatchie County deputy Monday night by jumping out of a moving vehicle on the interstate.
Roger Wayne Havens, 39, was being transported to the Tallahatchie County jail Monday night around 7:45 when he jumped out of the back window of the deputy’s truck traveling at highway speed on I-55. Sheriff Lance Humphreys said the escape was reported in Yalobusha County, about two miles south of the Oakland exit. Humphreys said multiple deputies assisted Tallahatchie County during an intense search along I-55 Monday night. The search also included a K-9 unit from a neighboring county.
On Tuesday afternoon a skinned-up Havens was found in the woods just off the interstate after Tallahatchie County Sheriff William Brewer and several others returned to look for the escapee. An ambulance was dispatched to the scene after Havens was found and he was transported for treatment.
Brewer also told the Sun Sentinel that Havens was handcuffed and shackled, sitting in the back seat of a Ford F-150 crew cab while he was being transported Monday night. Brewer said the window was down slightly to allow fresh air in and there was no guards or bars on the windows. Brewer also said it was dark in the truck and the deputy heard a noise, turned on the light, looked back and the man was gone.
Brewer also told the Sun Sentinel that Havens was put on the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) for failure to appear in drug court. He was apprehended in Picayune Saturday and held for Tallahatchie County. A deputy went down Monday to pick him up and bring him back to Tallahatchie County.
“This was a very unfortunate event,” Humphreys added about the dangerous escape. “We are thankful that Havens was apprehended.”
Humphreys also said that Havens was conscious and talking before he was transported for treatment, adding that he told Chief Deputy Jerry Ferguson he was sucked out of the truck window Monday night.
