COVINGTON — An inmate who escaped from a hospital while in custody has been caught in Covington after residents reported seeing him knocking on doors.
What’s Happening: Sheriff Eric J. Levett and the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office, with help from other local agencies, captured Timothy Shane on Tuesday in the 9000 block of Morris Drive in Covington. Deputies responded to the area after receiving reports that Shane was seen knocking on doors in the neighborhood.
What’s Important: Shane escaped from Grady Hospital early Monday morning while in deputy custody. According to the sheriff’s office, he fled wearing only a hospital gown, stole an SUV with a gun inside, and crashed the vehicle shortly after. The capture comes after a two-day search for the escaped inmate.
Between the Lines: Shane was at Grady Hospital after a suicide attempt when he escaped from custody. The sheriff’s office had warned residents that Shane may have been armed with the stolen handgun from the SUV. It remains unclear if the weapon was recovered during his capture or whether Shane still had it when he was found knocking on doors in Covington.
Catch Up Quick: Shane’s escape happened in a busy area of Atlanta near Grady Hospital. After stealing the SUV, he crashed it shortly after fleeing. The two days between his escape and capture raised concerns for residents in the area about a potentially armed escapee on the loose.
The Big Picture: This marks another recent escape case in Georgia involving inmates in law enforcement custody. In October, a Spalding County inmate escaped from a work detail and was caught hours later in Upson County. That case marked the first escape from a Spalding County work detail in more than 15 years. Shane’s capture brings an end to a situation that had law enforcement searching across multiple jurisdictions.
The Sources: Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia Sun archives.
