6th inmate remains free after Monday jail break

Published 12:00 am Friday, November 29, 2002

Reginald Sims, the last of six inmates who escaped from the Warren County Jail, remained free for a fourth day today.

“We are still looking virtually nonstop,” Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said. “And we will continue to look until he is found.”

Sims, 21, 208 Overlook Drive, was among the six who gained freedom near midnight Monday after a jailer was beaten and his keys were taken.

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Facing two charges of aggravated assault in shootings on Sky Farm Avenue Oct. 7, Sims had been jailed since Oct. 21.

The sheriff said information provided by the public assisted in the capture of several of the other escapees, the most recent of whom was picked up Wednesday afternoon.

“We are thankful to the public for their tips,” Pace said. “We are continuing to follow up on any leads we get.”

Pace has said the escape happened when inmates grabbed and beat jailer Rick Haggard, 29, as he opened a second-floor cellblock door to receive outgoing mail. He spent nearly 24 hours in River Region Medical Center after sustaining a skull fracture and concussion.

Haggard’s handheld radio and about $30 from his wallet were taken. The keys and radio were recovered, Pace said.

Two of the inmates were captured within about 45 minutes of leaving the cellblock. Jamie Maurice Woods, 18, 237 Smith Road, was captured in a taxi. Louis Gaskin, 21, who gave his address in court as 138 Military Drive, was captured by detention officers before leaving the jail complex.

Two other escapees were captured separately Tuesday afternoon.

Derrick Hyland, 18, 426 Dana Road, and Randy Morrison, 21, 1410 First East St., were captured within about an hour of each other.

The fifth inmate was captured Wednesday by Vicksburg police officers after Pace received a phone tip.

Christopher Shinell Palmer, 34, of Marilyn Drive in Jackson, was first identified as Michael Jerome Woods.

Palmer was on foot when three Vicksburg police officers took him into custody without incident near Martin Luther King Drive and Mission 66, Pace said. Palmer had been arrested in Edwards July 8 and was accused of car theft.

After appearances in Warren County Justice Court, Woods, Gaskin, Hyland and Morrison face charges of assault on a law-enforcement officer, which carries a potential prison sentence of 30 years, robbery, which carries 15 years, and felony escape, which carries five years. Palmer is scheduled to appear in justice court Monday.