Two inmates, who escaped from Virginia jail last week, found and arrested in Tennessee
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Virginia – The Washington County Sheriff’s Office says that two people who got away from the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail Authority in Abingdon on Thursday, January 26, have been caught in Tennessee.
Johnny Brown, 51, from Rogersville, Tennessee, and Albert Ricketson, 31, from Abingdon, Virginia, got out of the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail Authority at about 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, as we reported.
Around 11 a.m. on Friday, January 27, authorities found a gold Cadillac SUV on Route 66 in Bulls Gap, Tennessee. They think the two stole it.
We were told that Brown and Ricketson were hiding in the loft of a barn on Cupp Hollow Road in Rogersville, Tennessee, about four miles from where the stolen car was.
The sheriff’s office said that when the police got to the scene, both people were taken into custody without any trouble.
Authorities say that Brown, a federal prisoner, is being held without bond in the Washington County Tennessee Jail. Ricketson is being held in the Hawkins County Tennessee Jail without bond because police say he has been found guilty of murder.
Several law enforcement agencies worked together to bring Brown and Ricketson into custody, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. Agencies involved included:
- U.S. Marshal Service
- U.S. Forestry
- Virginia State Police
- Smyth County Sheriff’s Office
- Virginia Game and Inland Fisheries
- Washington County Virginia Sheriff’s Office
- Hawkins County Tennessee Sheriff’s Office
- Johnson City Police Department
- Morristown Police Department
- Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
- Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office
- Bristol Virginia Police Department
- Hamblen County Sheriff’s Department
ORIGINAL STORY
The U.S. Marshall Service and the Virginia State Police are looking for two people who escaped from an Abingdon jail Thursday afternoon. One of them is a convicted murderer.
At about 2:45 p.m., Johnny Shane Brown, 51, of Rogersville, Tennessee, and Albert Lee Ricketson, 31, of Abingdon, Virginia, escaped from the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail Authority.
At about 11 a.m. on Friday, January 27, officials said that a gold-colored Cadillac SUV, which they think was stolen by the two, had been found in Hawkins County, Tennessee, on Route 66 in Bulls Gap, Tennessee.
But the two men have still not been found.
Authorities didn’t know the year, make, or model of the car that Brown and Ricketson might be driving right now.
Ricketson is a federal prisoner who has been convicted of killing two people. We were told that he weighs 212 pounds and is 5 feet, 8 inches tall.
Brown, who weighs about 182 pounds and is 5 feet, 11 inches tall, and two other people got out of a Sullivan County, Tennessee jail in February 2022. During a chase in North Carolina, two of the prisoners died.
The sheriff’s office says that the two men are dangerous and should be thought of as armed.
“The prisoners at the regional jail were let out into the recreation yard. “There were nine inmates there, and one of them ended up pressing the button, which let Ricketson and Brown out,” said Washington County Sheriff Blake Andis.
He went on to say, “These people are dangerous because they have done bad things in the past.”
The sheriff’s office says that the last time they were seen, the two were wearing red jumpsuits and may be wearing white T-shirts.
No one knows where they are going.
Anyone who sees either of the men or the car should call 911 right away.
A reward of $5,000 for each of the two fugitives, for a total of $10,000, is being offered for information that leads to their capture.
