Chattanooga Times Free Press

Escaped inmates back in custody

- STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Two men who escaped from the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center earlier this week are back in custody.

Dewayne Lee Halfacre, 43, of Lynchburg, Tennessee, and 28-year-old Jonathan Cody Baxter, of Murfreesbo­ro, escaped from the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center early Wednesday after overpoweri­ng a detention officer before climbing over razor wire, Rutherford County Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh said Wednesday.

The TBI had placed both men on its Top 10 Most Wanted list and offered a $5,000 reward for each fugitive.

Fitzhugh said on Twitter that both inmates were taken into custody Thursday shortly before noon. No other details were immediatel­y released. He said the case “remains very active.”

Local and state law enforcemen­t officers used K-9s and a helicopter to search for the men.

Fitzhugh said the injured deputy was treated for minor injuries and released from a hospital.

Halfacre was being held for aggravated assault and aggravated robbery. He was involved in a five-day manhunt in Marion County in January that involved personnel from 17 law enforcemen­t agencies. He was on the run after robbing a store in Almaville, Tennessee. During the hunt, he stole a deputy’s car, later crashing it. Baxter was being held for failing to appear in court on a theft charge.

 ??  ?? Dewayne Halfacre Cody Baxter
Dewayne Halfacre Cody Baxter

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