Escapee arrested after wave of crimes
Fugitive stole car, credit cards as he fled to Georgia
A 25-year-old man who escaped from the Hamilton County Jail on Monday went on a crime spree as he fled into Georgia, according to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.
Dustin Adams was captured in Fannin County, Ga., late Wednesday night — three days after he and 19-year-old Dylon Lafollette broke out of a second-floor window, climbed to the ground on bedsheets and escaped.
Lafollete was recaptured hours later and just a mile away.
But Adams traveled much farther and left a trail of crimes in his wake, according to a release from the sheriff’s office. Investigators suspect he stole a vehicle, burglarized a vehicle and fraudulently used debit and credit cards during his run.
Multiple law enforcement agencies from Tennessee and Georgia assisted in capturing Adams, according to the sheriff’s office. He is being held in the Fannin County Jail until he can be transferred back to Hamilton County.
Adams and Lafollete’s deadof-night escape was the first jailbreak in Hamilton County in at least 15 years, Sheriff Jim Hammond said.
The escape highlights long-standing problems with the jail, an aging facility that is chronically understaffed and overcrowded. The jail is supposed to house a maximum 505 inmates — but at the time of the escape Monday, there were 642 inmates inside, officials said.
Hammond said Tuesday jail officials will take a look at what can be done to prevent future escapes, and he suggested that the jail may add new video cameras or increase the frequency of maintenance inspections of windows.
“We will try to do a better job of checking those windows,” he said.
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