Skip to content

Sheriff Provides Details Regarding Escape & Capture of Two Inmates

By Jessie Williams

Macon County Sheriff Mark Gammons recently released new information regarding the escape and capture of two inmates last week. 

 

As reported by the Macon County Chronicle in last week’s issue, inmates Joseph Whittemore and Jeremy Fuller, escaped from the Macon County Jail on Sunday, October 18, 2020, and were captured in Kentucky the following day.

According to Sheriff Gammons, an investigation revealed that inmate Fuller was taking a shower before the second shift of jail employees clocked in, and his cell was not secured back down by staff in between the first and second shift change.

At approximately 8:15 p.m., while guards were doing cell checks and distributing medication, inmates Fuller and Whittemore were able to gain access to the sally port of the jail and walked to a nearby vehicle repair shop where they stole a van that had the keys inside.

When guards realized the inmates were gone from their cells, they notified officers who began tracking the men. 

Officers were able to view video surveillance from the repair shop and learned that Red Boiling Springs Police had attempted to make a traffic stop on a van matching the vehicle the two men stole. The driver of the van would not pull over, and the pursuit continued to the Kentucky line.

The van was later found just before daylight behind a church in Kentucky. 

With assistance from Kentucky authorities, Whittemore and Fuller were found in a vacant house near Whittemore’s mother’s residence in Adolphus, KY. 

They were transported to the Allen County Jail, before being extradited back to Macon County.

Fuller has since been transported to the state penitentiary, while Whittemore remains an inmate at the Macon County Jail. 

They were both charged with escape and theft charges in Macon County, and also face additional charges in Kentucky. 

Sheriff Gammons said that personnel issues at the jail are being dealt with accordingly.