UPDATE: West and a suspected accomplice were arrested by authorities on April 24, 2024:
Authorities are looking for the Cleburne County Jail trustee who walked away from the jail late Thursday after disposing of garbage.
Jared West (pictured in images from the Cleburne County Sheriff’s Office), 41, of Tumbling Shoals, was initially booked into the jail on charges of first-degree battery, tampering, bond revocation, and two misdemeanors.
In an arrest affidavit filed Friday, West was noted as last being seen around 9:15 p.m. Thursday, walking behind the jail building to take out the trash. The affidavit said the jail supervisor noted he was missing around 11 p.m.
According to the jail’s security camera, West walked behind a bus before the camera lost sight of him. Upon finding West’s abandoned inmate uniform, authorities deployed a department K9 unit, which tracked a scent along the jail’s fence line.
The affidavit noted the sheriff’s office believes West scaled the jail’s fence and headed towards Scott Street, north of the department.
West is now facing a felony count of second-degree escape and is being charged in Cleburne County Circuit Court as a habitual offender, having been convicted of four or more felonies.
According to the Arkansas Criminal Code, second-degree escape is a Class B felony if the person is in law enforcement custody at the time of the escape.
In a social media post from Friday morning, Sheriff Chris Brown asked anyone who sees or knows West’s whereabouts to contact 911 or the non-emergency dispatch phone number, (501) 362-8291.
The image above, taken from security cameras Thursday night, show what West was wearing at the time he left the Cleburne County Jail.
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