LITTLE ROCK — A convicted murderer remained at large in central Arkansas late Monday after he and another inmate escaped from the Tucker Unit in Jefferson County.
Curtis Reese Jr., 33, and James Ryan, 40, worked together in the Tucker Unit bus barn, where state buses and trucks are refurbished by the inmates.
The duo climbed inside the water tank on a newly refurbished Arkansas Forestry Commission tanker truck at about 1:30 p.m. and rode out the gate, said Shea Wilson, spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Correction.
Both Reese and Ryan were convicted of first-degree murder in separate cases. Reese was eligible for parole in 2025. Ryan was eligible in 2026, according to the Department of Correction.
Ryan jumped off the truck just north of the prison on Arkansas 15 in the Ferda area,where he was captured within two hours of the escape, Wilson said. Reese reportedly jumped from the truck as well, but it is not known where.
“They jumped out before we were in pursuit,” Wilson said.
The pair were discovered missing shortly after the truck left the facility, during a routine head count.
As the sun began to set Monday, the search concentrated on a large field flanked by hardwoods along a lonely stretch of Arkansas 15 between England and Tucker, where central Arkansas meets the Delta.
A pack of search dogs led men on horseback, as officers from the Jefferson County sheriff’s office, the Arkansas State Police and Arkansas Department of Correction swept area fields in the search for Reese.
As darkness settled in, Wilson said the search would continue to concentrate in the area between England and Tucker as long as necessary to find Reese.
Ryan was sentenced to 80 years by a Pulaski County jury in 2005 for first-degree murder, firearm possession and multiple drug charges. He was back in custody shortly after the escape.
Reese had been at the Tucker Unit since his conviction in 1998 on two counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of two Saline County teenagers. He was sentenced to 40 years, according to the Arkansas Department of Correction.
He is described as 6 feet tall and 176 pounds with brown hair and green eyes. He has several swastika and skull tattoos, and a 4-inch scar on the front of his right arm.
Reese was found guilty when he was 19 of killing two other teenagers in a fight over a drug deal.
Eric Ogden, 18, and Lance Kelloms, 17, were shot in the head with a .22-caliber rifle outside an abandoned mobile home near Salem. Reese told investigators at the time of his arrest that another teenager, Jason Meredith, 19, of Benton, had shot them. Meredith is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder.
Reese said Ogden had sold him “bad dope” for $25 and he knew that Ogden had received $1,500 for working at a fireworks stand.
The murder weapon and Ogden’s wallet with the cash were both found at Reese’s home. Reese appealed his double murder conviction to the Arkansas Court of Appeals in 2000, which affirmed his conviction.
The escape was the first for the Tucker Unit in years. Wilson said she did not have information Monday night about the last escape from the prison.
“Reese has escaped and probably trying to stay out,” Wilson said. “Anyone should exercise caution. I don’t have any information that he is armed. But if anyone sees him, we advise them to call law enforcement.” Information for this article was contributed by John Worthen of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 10/30/2012