FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE...
Thursday, October 1st, 2015
Deputies Capture Fugitive From Rome Who Fled From Traffic Stop on Highway 53 Near Scottsville
Sheriff Mitch Ralston Reports:
At about 1:30pm today, a deputy sheriff stopped a Toyota Camry which was travelling at a high rate of speed (80+ MPH) on Highway 53. After the car was stopped, the driver jumped out of the vehicle and fled on foot from the deputy. Other deputy sheriffs responded quickly to the scene and sealed off the area where the fugitive was last observed. A Sheriff’s K9 unit was used to track the fugitive who was found in a very densely wooded and swampy area near Franklin Road/Highway 53 near the Scottsville Community. The suspect, identified as one John Earl McConnell, age 21, of 25 East 11th Street, Rome, Georgia, was taken into custody without resistance, tired and in wet clothes. He was subsequently charged with speeding and Hindering Law Enforcement Officers . McConnell was wanted by state authorities in Rome for violation of parole as well as violation of probation. He is lodged in the county jail.
Sheriff Ralston wished to thank the several local citizens who assisted his deputies today, a witness who guided the officers about where the suspect was found, another who used his truck to carry deputies back to their patrol cars after searching the area on foot, and another who loaned the deputies ATVs to seach in the swampy area. Sheriff Ralston said, “It’s so great to enjoy the support of our citizens like these who went out of their way to assist these deputies today. Folks like this are a real credit to our community and I’d like to sincerely than each of them.”