INMATE ESCAPES FROM JAIL IN UNMARKED POLICE CAR

1/20/00
KENT COUNTY, MI- A Kent County Jail inmate, scheduled for release 
on July 13, drove away from the facility undetected in an unmarked 
police cruiser Tuesday only to be captured Wednesday afternoon. 

Police received a tip regarding Roy Dempsey's whereabouts and
apprehended him on Lake Michigan Drive NW at 2:30 p.m., said Kent
County Sheriff's Sgt. Jeff Freeman. 

Dempsey, 42, who was serving time for an embezzlement conviction, 
washed and repaired cruisers at the jail. 

Investigators believe he escaped shortly before midnight during a 
shift change, a time when the gates would have been unlocked. 

Police found the unmarked cruiser at a Greyhound Bus Terminal, a 
considerable distance from where he was found. They believe he 
was trying to lead police off his trail.

Police are not certain why Dempsey escaped, but said he could 
face up to four years in prison for the offense and the theft.

Backup news staff writer Holly Cooley


http://www.thebackup.com/newsdetail.asp?id=44O 11/9/00

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