Killer caught trying to flee with a cousin

Awaiting return to prison, parolee escaped county jail

Paul Grice, 38
Paul Grice, 38

A convicted murderer who has been in and out of prison and county jails since he was 18 was captured before noon Monday in Drew County after his escape early Sunday from the Dallas County jail in Fordyce.

Paul Dewayne Grice, 38, was in county lockup awaiting transfer to the Arkansas Department of Correction on a parole violation when he escaped shortly after midnight Saturday.

Drew County Sheriff Mark Gober said Grice was apprehended at the intersection of Arkansas 138 and U.S. 278 on the east end of Monticello while attempting to flee in a vehicle driven by a distant cousin.

"When he comes out of the woods and approaches her car, he does get in and she directly gets out of the car and flees from the vehicle," Gober said. "Subsequently numerous officers swarmed him, and he probably ran at the most 35 or 40 yards and was apprehended with no problem."

Grice is back in custody of the Dallas County sheriff's office awaiting transfer to prison.

Stephanie Smith, 32, of Fordyce also has been arrested and is charged with aiding and abetting an escape, Dallas County Sheriff Stan McGahee said in a news release. Gober said Smith drove Grice from Dallas County to Drew County.

Smith was arrested at 7:39 p.m. Sunday and was being held Monday afternoon at the Ouachita County jail in Camden, according to the Ouachita County sheriff's office website. No bail had been set.

Smith is not the distant cousin with whom Grice was trying to escape, Gober said. More arrests are expected, McGahee said in his statement.

Dallas County Prosecuting Attorney David Butler said Grice was a trusty at the Dallas County jail and had access to certain areas within the facility when he escaped. Butler said Grice managed to get outside the jail, stacked two air conditioning units next to the outside fence and threw a blanket over the razor wire to get away.

Grice was in jail at bed-check before midnight Saturday, Gober said. After he escaped, two people drove him from Fordyce to the cousin's residence about 6 miles outside Monticello, where his truck was waiting, Gober said.

Grice had planned to flee in the truck, which had been at the residence for about a month, but when he arrived he found the truck had a flat tire and problems with the transmission, Gober said.

"Someone at the residence alerted Dallas County and said, 'This guy Paul Grice is at my house,' " Gober said. "Dallas County replies, 'No he's in our jail,' and she replies, 'No, you don't understand. He's in my house now.'

"They did a bed check and, of course, he's gone."

A Drew County deputy arrived at the house in time to see Grice run off. Tracking dogs were brought in, and officials found evidence where Grice had gone to the bathroom in two spots.

Grice had a cellphone and turned it on long enough to make calls, and police tracked the calls through cell towers in the area, Gober said.

The search was halted after midnight Sunday and resumed about 8 a.m. Monday.

Police conducted surveillance on Grice's cousin's vehicle, which led to Grice's capture in Monticello.

It wasn't Grice's first escape attempt.

Last October, while in the Dallas County jail, Grice was charged with conspiring to escape in an incident that involved his mother, Judy Kay Grice, and his girlfriend, according to an affidavit. Court records show he also was charged with furnishing, possessing or using prohibited articles, specifically a cellphone.

After police confiscated the cellphone, it began receiving texts from Judy Grice in reference to a plan to help Grice escape. Deputies arrested Judy Grice and Grice's girlfriend down the street from the jail where they were to meet with Grice, court documents said.

The girlfriend was not charged.

Grice had been in custody in the Dallas County jail since September for violating the conditions of release on a murder conviction.

His parole was revoked after he was arrested for aggravated residential burglary, aggravated assault and being a felon in possession of a firearm, court documents said. Officials said Grice broke into a Bradley County woman's house Sept. 28. Those charges are pending.

Grice pleaded guilty in 1998 to second-degree murder, aggravated robbery, residential burglary and theft of property in a 1996 case in Jefferson County in which Grice and another man robbed James Banks Rushing, shot him repeatedly and dumped his body in a rural area outside of Star City, according to court documents. Police found Grice and the other suspect in possession of items taken during the robbery, court documents said.

Agencies assisting in the search and capture of Grice included the Bradley, Dallas and Drew county sheriff's offices, the Arkansas Department of Correction, Monticello police and the Arkansas State Police.

State Desk on 02/09/2016

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