A Kentucky man jailed in connection with the fatal shooting of an Illinois deputy and a subsequent carjacking in neighboring Missouri last year failed in an escape attempt, authorities said.
Ray Tate, 40, of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, escaped from his cell at the Jefferson County Justice Center early Sunday morning but was captured by Mount Vernon police, who had established a perimeter around the lockup, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said.
The perimeter had been established because the jail was on night shift lockdown status, the Southern Illinoisan reported.
No other inmates were involved, authorities said.
Tate discovered a way to get out of his cell because of a flaw in the original construction of the jail, investigators said, adding that jail property was damaged.
Tate is charged with murder in the death of Wayne County Deputy Sean Riley last December. Riley was fatally shot after responding to a call to motorist assist call on Interstate 64 near Mill Shoals.
