Three Caught, Three at Large After Arkansas Jail Break

CLINTON, Ark. – Three escapees from the Van Buren County Jail were caught Wednesday, but a two-time escapee charged with capital murder remained on the loose, according to the sheriff's department.

Two suspects, Thomas Martin IV and Randy Crisel, were picked up after 8 a.m. and a third, Peter Boulette, 32, was picked up at about 4 a.m. Details weren't immediately available on the circumstances of the arrests.

Still being sought was William Charles Callahan, 39, who is charged with capital murder in the Dec. 1 slaying and robbery of a disabled man. Callahan escaped from the jail in February but was caught a day later.

Two others remaining at large among the six who escaped Tuesday were Edward Messer Jr., 23, who is charged with three counts of rape, and Lester Paul Byes, 24.

The prisoners punched a hole in the roof to get out of the lockup, and some of the fugitives later bought clothing and supplies at a local Wal-Mart, Sheriff Scott Bradley said.

The escape happened about 3 a.m. Tuesday.

"They tore a hole in the ceiling, went through the attic and busted a hole through the roof," he said. "I think they stood on each other's shoulders and made human ladders. It's a 20-foot tall ceiling. One got up there and tied some kind of bedsheet up there and the other ones climbed out."

Bradley said the inmates, particularly Callahan, are considered dangerous, and he urged people to call authorities if they see the men.

Callahan, of Marshall, is accused of robbing a disabled man of $80 dollars and beating and stabbing the man to death.

"We kept him locked down for some time," Bradley told Little Rock television station KTHV. "We thought we had it fixed where they couldn't get out."

The sheriff said that after their escape, the six may have split into groups.

Bradley said the inmates who shopped at the Wal-Mart didn't stand out from other customers because their white jail shirts and sweat pants were not readily identifiable as jail clothing.

Video surveillance cameras at a nearby Super 8 motel had images of the inmates changing clothes outside, Bradley said. It wasn't clear how they got the money for the purchases, he said.

Byes was in the jail on a parole hold; Martin was held on various felony charges; Boulette is charged with various drug counts, and Crisel faces robbery and other felony charges.