The three escaped inmates that were on the run for nearly a week were finally captured near
Alliance, Nebraska Thursday evening after a 64 mile police chase.
The Nebraska State Patrol says 31-year-old Bobby Cockerell, 49-year-old Christopher Marshall and 59-year-old Jerry Sargent were arrested around 8 p.m. in the Nebraska panhandle.
The three escaped from the Branchville Correctional Facility near
Tell City, Indiana on March 22.
Police say they believe the three men are responsible for a home invasion and assault of the occupants of a Kentucky home while they were on the run.
Just before Noon Thursday, police in Nebraska were notified about the three escaped inmates.
Officials say the suspects stopped at a filling station in
Thedford, Nebraska to get their van fixed. The mechanic called the
Thomas County Sheriff's Department around 6 p.m. Central Time (CDT) after he recognized the three suspects on an internet picture. The mechanic described the vehicle they were driving as a dark green minivan.
At 5 p.m. CDT a restaurant waitress called the Hooker County Sheriff's Department to tell them the suspects were at a restaurant in
Mullen, Nebraska earlier that day.
The
Hooker County Sheriff later found the suspects' minivan at a local motel, and watched two of the suspects go back to the restaurant. Police say just minutes later, the suspects came back to the motel. The three men then got in the minivan, and drove west on Nebraska highway #2.
A deputy sheriff followed the vehicle until state trooper cars joined him. Police say they tried to stop vehicle, but it sped up, leading police on a chase that reached speeds of 105 miles per hour. Troopers tried tire deflators and road blocks, but the suspects were able to drive around them.
After a 64 mile chase, a Hemingford Police officer put out a tire deflator, which the minivan ran over. The suspects kept driving their debilitated van, and drove into the city of
Alliance, Nebraska.
Officials say when the van stopped in the city, the three suspects got out of the vehicle and ran. Two of the suspects were caught quickly by police.
The third suspect was armed with a semi-automatic hand gun. Police say the suspect attacked a couple inside a pickup truck and tried to steal their vehicle. An Alliance Police officer at the scene got the driver out of the pickup truck to protect him, and arrested the last suspect.
Officials say they found many rifles and hand guns as well as nearly $6,000 in cash and items believed to be taken in the Kentucky burglary when they searched the suspects' minivan.
The three men were sent to the
Box Butte County Jail. Officials say the men will be transferred to the custody of the US Marshall's Service.
Officers at the Box Butte County Sheriff's Office say they can't remember the last time they arrested prison escapees from out-of-state. It's unclear whether these men will first have to face charges in Nebraska before they're eventually extradited back to the Tri-State; however, the sheriff's office says all three will likely go before a local Nebraska judge Friday morning.
After that, officials are not sure if the men will fight extradition back to the Tri-State.
