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Inmate flees work crew on U.S. 43 A Washington County Jail inmate working with a crew picking up litter along U.S. Highway 43, Monday, Sept. 24, broke away from the group leading lawmen on a hunt for the rest of the day. According to Washington County officials, shortly after lunch, Jimmie C. Wilkins Jr. of Wagarville managed to engineer an escape from the work crew by telling the state employee in charge that he needed to use the restroom while the group was at the Wagarville A-1 Exxon on U.S. 43. The state employee said he informed Wilkins that he could not allow him to use the store's restroom and took him to a nearby wooded area close to a creek. Once in the woods, Wilkins reportedly shed his orange jumpsuit and fled the area on foot, flagging down a motorist who gave him a ride, supposedly to a relative's home in Wagarville. There he is believed to have gained access to a small pickup truck which he used to flee Washington County Sheriff's Deputies who had begun to search for him. Soon nearly every available officer from the department joined in the pursuit, which led them through county back roads and close to the Mississippi line. At one point a county resident who knew Wilkins said the inmate stopped at his house asking for assistance. The citizen told Wilkins he would not help him and called the sheriff's department. He also told law officers the suspect was now wearing a black T-shirt, flowered shorts and a blue ball cap. The chase had lawmen searching the Deer Park and Tibbie areas for several hours. At one point the Citronelle Police Department was notified to be on the lookout for the late 1980s model two-tone brown Mazda pickup Wilkins was driving. Around 2:30 p.m., Wilkins used a cell phone to call the sheriff's department, saying he planned to turn himself in at the Washington County Courthouse and would be there in about 15 minutes. Deputy Ronnie Sullivan, who had been involved with the search, returned to the courthouse to wait on Wilkins. After nearly 25 minutes, the fleeing inmate failed to show, so Deputy Sullivan informed Sheriff Richard Stringer and rejoined the search. The deputy stated he believed Wilkins said he was turning himself in as a stalling tactic designed to throw lawmen off his trail. Wilkins was finally apprehended by Clarke County deputies later that afternoon in Whatley. Tuesday, Sheriff Stringer said the suspect was caught thanks to a form of electronic tracking. "Thanks to technology, we were able to track his (Wilkins') moves," said the sheriff. "We tracked him to Mt. Vernon, Evergreen, Repton and then to Whatley, where he was caught." Stringer said the family member, whose name is being withheld at this time, who assisted Wilkins had been arrested and charged with aiding in his escape, which is a felony. Wilkins also faces additional escape charges. No bond amounts for the two had been set by Tuesday's press time. "I want to emphasize that the two crews we have out picking up garbage are making a difference as can be seen by the cleaner roadsides throughout Washington County," said Stringer. "We will not stop utilizing inmates to provide this service because of this incident. We do not use any violent offenders on these crews and none that are charged with felonies."
Wilkins was arrested July 19 on a third degree domestic violence charge. He was being held on $3,000 bond. He was also held for the U.S. Marshal's Office for failure to appear on a possession of a firearm charge following his arrest for domestic violence.
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