Sheriff: Inmates overpowered officer before escape
The three inmates who escaped from the Muskingum County Jail around just after midnight Monday morning have been captured.
Aaron Veyon, Cole Taylor and Roy Agin escaped from the jail after overpowering a corrections officer and taking his keys. They escaped through the bridge connecting the jail to the Muskingum County Courthouse.
The corrections officer, who has been working for the sheriff's office for a little more than a year, suffered minor injuries to his hands and arm, Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz said.
Lutz said two of the inmates were trustees at the jail, and did work in the facility. They had been cleaning the bathroom area when they jumped the corrections officer. They were housed on the jail's minimum security floor.
After spending the night holed up in an abandoned building in downtown Zanesville, Taylor and Agin stole a pickup truck that had been left running in the parking lot at Christ's Table and headed south.
They were spotted by South Zanesville Police Chief Mark Ross in the vicinity of Ohio 719 and Moxahala Avenue, and a pursuit started. They were pursued by several agencies down Ohio 555, where stop sticks were deployed near Stovertown. With the vehicle slowed, a PIT maneuver forced the vehicle off the road, where they were apprehended. Agin complained of an injury to his ankle, and was checked out before being returned to the Muskingum County Jail.
Veyon split from the other two at some point during the night, Lutz said.
He was found in the basement of a house near Richards Road in Zanesville, and apprehended shortly before 10 a.m. Monday morning. Lutz said Veyon did not obey orders to surrender, and a K9 unit was deployed.
Veyon was being held for weapons under disability, trafficking in drugs and three counts of felony drug possession. Taylor was being held for receiving stolen property and tampering with evidence, and Agin was being held for falsification, escape and failure to appear. Agin's escape charge stems from failing to appear for a parole hearing.
Lutz said the possible charges from the incident could involve assault on a peace officer, escape, theft and potentially others. He said if an investigation revealed the residents of the house where Veyon was found harbored him, charges could be filed there as well.
"These are very serious charges," Lutz said. "They put their hands on one of our guys, we take that personally."
Lutz said he takes personal responsibility for the escape, noting the escape was part of a design flaw in the jail that should have been corrected. He said work is already underway to prevent a similar escape.
In his 14 years, Lutz said no other similar attempts had been made. "It is something we will learn from," he said.
This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Sheriff: Inmates overpowered officer before escape
