PINE BLUFF -- Two men held in the robbery of an elderly brother and sister at gunpoint last week briefly escaped from the Jefferson County jail near downtown Pine Bluff, authorities said Wednesday.
Corderro Foster, 26, and Justin Cartwright, 24, had just been arrested by Pine Bluff police and were awaiting booking when they knocked down a jailer and bolted out a door about noon, Jefferson County sheriff's office spokesman Maj. Lafayette Woods Jr. said.
The two were spotted about two hours later by law enforcement in the 700 block of Georgia Street, which is less than a mile from the jail and only a block away from the Pine Bluff Police Department's administrative headquarters.
In addition to their initial charges of aggravated robbery, theft by receiving and being felons in possession of firearms, Foster and Cartwright now face third-degree battery and escape charges, Woods said.
Jailers are still investigating how the two were able to get away so easily. After reviewing surveillance footage at the jail, Woods said a Pine Bluff police officer is shown allowing one of the men to handcuff himself while inside the booking area, which goes against the facility's procedures.
"The inmate who cuffed himself made them very loose and was able to slip them off," Woods said. "The other man had asked to use the restroom, and his cuffs were removed for that purpose. The two then saw a female jailer open a door to deal with another inmate when they pushed her down to the ground and ran away."
Woods said that jailer suffered a leg injury during the escape.
Pine Bluff Police Chief Jeff Hubanks said Wednesday afternoon that he had no knowledge of his officers being at the jail when Foster and Cartwright escaped.
The two inmates, along with a third man, are suspected in the Jan 12. robbery of Will Wright, 81, and Mary Franklin, 84, who police said were followed home and robbed at gunpoint after leaving the Brookshire's store on West 28th Ave.
Police also arrested Clifton Chambers, 27, on Wednesday, though they said he wasn't involved in the escape. Chambers is suspected of being the third man in the robbery of the elderly siblings.
Earlier in the day, all three had surrendered to authorities without incident at the Plaza Hotel in Pine Bluff.
Officers with the Jefferson County sheriff's office, Pine Bluff Police Department and Arkansas State Police canvassed a wide area of downtown after they said Foster and Cartwright fled the jail. Dozens of patrol cars were seen crisscrossing the streets, some stopping cars and pedestrians in search of clues.
Worried shop owners and many downtown workers were also on high alert, locking their doors and windows out of fear of an encounter with the escapees.
Judy Hutchens works at a downtown bank and said she skipped her lunchtime walk when she heard about the search.
"Most everyone I know stayed inside until we heard they had been caught," Hutchens said. "You never know what people may be capable of when they are on the run. It's better to be safe and cautious."
State Desk on 01/22/2015