12:28 pm Prison escapees captured early Friday morning
Two prisoners who crawled underneath a fence to escape from the Carter County Annex in Roan Mountain on Thursday and may have struck a deputy’s hand with a car have been captured.
Troy Layne (Source: TDOC)
A spokesperson for the Tennessee Department of Corrections, Dorinda Carter, said the two inmates were Robert Wayne Jennings, 38, and Troy Layne, 40, who escaped on foot from the minimum-security facility around 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Carter told the STAR this morning that both men have been apprehended by TDOC officers in Newport, Tenn.
Robert Jennings (Source: TDOC)
The men will be taken to the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. Carter said more details regarding the incident would be released later this morning.
Immediately after the two men escaped from the prison, local and state law enforcement officers began searching for the escapees. Carter County Sheriff Chris Mathes said the two men crawled underneath a fence to escape. Shortly after the escape, corrections officers in Roan Mountain reportedly saw a silver older model Ford Taurus on Old Railroad Grade Road. The vehicle would not stop and officers believe the escapees used the car as a getaway vehicle.
Mathes said his deputies were in the area soon after the incident, including Deputy Larry Vaughn. The sheriff said Vaughn had located a similar vehicle as the one seen near the prison along Highway 19E. As Vaughn checked the vehicle, and was standing on the side of the roadway, another silver sedan was traveling northbound on 19E.
Mathes said that the suspicious vehicle “swerved toward him (Vaughn).” The deputy was struck in the hand and arm, but was not seriously injured. After striking Vaughn, the vehicle continued on Highway 19E and reportedly had a damaged passenger side mirror.
Vaughn did not go to the hospital for the injury, but was later checked. Mathes said his deputy, who continued to work after the incident, will likely have a bruised hand as a result of the incident.
Mathes noted that he is not sure whether the incident was related to the escape, however it involved vehicles of similar appearance. Vaughn said the vehicle had several occupants.
Last night’s search involved officers from several agencies, including the Carter County Sheriff’s Department, TDOC, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Elizabethton Police Department and Johnson County Sheriff’s Department, and several surrounding agencies were alerted of the incident.
According to information provided by the TDOC spokesperson, at the time of the escape, Jennings was serving a 29-year sentence for robbery and burglary conviction out of Blount County. His sentence was due to expire on Dec. 26, 2012.
Layne is serving a 15-year sentence for aggravated assault and evading arrest convictions out of Sequatchie County. He was eligible for parole as early as November 2012.
Carter said that both men will be charged with escape and could face an additional five years added to the sentences.
Last night’s escape was the first since Brian D. Knighton ran away from a work crew inside the Roan Mountain State Park on Sept. 28, 2010. During his time loose, Knighton reportedly burned a state park maintenance building. He was eventually captured by the Tennessee Highway Patrol in Cookeville and was ordered to serve an additional 14 years in prison.
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