Two juveniles are being credited with the weekend discovery of a rifle and other items left behind by two inmates who escaped the Western Kentucky Correctional Complex in August.
Inmates Jesse James Sebastian and James Ernest Whisman were captured in Georgia Friday, Sept. 5, after about 20 days on the run.
Sebastian, 43, and Whisman, 26, reportedly remained in the Princeton area for most of that time, entering the local high school at night to forage for food and hiding out in nearby fields and woods.
The duo apparently stole a 2008 Chrysler PT Cruiser from Trice Hughes, Inc., on Wednesday, Sept. 3, and headed south.
Georgia authorities stopped the vehicle for speeding on Interstate 75 two days later and soon unraveled the escapees’ plans.
The location of the items they accrued during their time on the lam remained unknown until Sunday afternoon.
Princeton police recovered the stash at 12:30 p.m. from under the Western Kentucky Parkway bridge on the Old Fredonia Road.
Two juveniles had discovered clothing issued by the prison farm, along with a rifle and ammunition, under the bridge and alerted the police.
Officers confiscated the prison clothes, identification for both Whisman and Sebastian, a Marlin Glenfield .22-caliber rifle, a box of .22-caliber ammunition, a pair of adjustable pliers, a Zippo lighter and lighter fluid.
Whisman and Sebastian remain lodged in Georgia. They will be charged with multiple offenses by several law enforcement agencies upon their return to Kentucky, police said.
• Police arrested Charles D. Ezell Jr., 46, of West Washington Street, at 7:47 p.m. Saturday after investigating a single-vehicle collision on Hopkinsville Road.
Ezell told officers that he had swerved to avoid a deer and ran off the road, overturning his 2003 Ford pickup.
Ezell was uninjured, police said. Officers determined he was impaired and took him into custody.
He was charged with DUI and no insurance and jailed.
• Adam K. Cotton, 27, of Mt. Hebron Church Road, was arrested and jailed at 6:42 p.m. Sunday on a Caldwell County warrant for failure to appear.
• Dennis Bender, 39, of McGoodwin Avenue, was arrested at 2:32 a.m. Saturday on a charge of fourth-degree assault.
Officers responded to a disturbance complaint at Bender’s residence and determined that he had been involved in a physical altercation with a relative.
Bender was jailed; other charges are possible, police said.
• At 8:47 p.m. Friday, officers arrested Christopher J. Goff, 31, of Dollar Street, for alcohol intoxication, disorderly conduct and terroristic threatening.
Officers had observed Goff walking on Dollar Street, intoxicated. He was taken into custody after refusing officers’ commands to calm down.
Goff also threatened bodily harm to officers, police said.
• Andrew M. Espie, 47, of Ratliff Street, was cited to court on charges of marijuana and drug paraphernalia possession at 2:20 p.m. Friday.
Officers responding to a complaint at Espie’s residence detected an odor of marijuana coming from the residence and obtained permission to search the home.
They recovered a small quantity of suspected marijuana, along with a pipe and rolling papers.
• Sylvia L. Cayce, 64, of Perry Cemetery Road, was arrested at 10:58 a.m. Friday on charges of improper display of a registration plate and operating on a suspended license.
Officers stopped Cayce’s 2001 Mazda for traffic violations and determined her license was suspended. She was jailed.
