Sheriff arrests man facing escape charges
Marion County Sheriff Lee Becker arrested a man Friday who was wanted for escaping from an Oklahoma jail.
Jesse Willard Rose III, 43, was taken into custody without incident Friday afternoon.
Patsy A. Marshall, Lincolnville, was taken into custody for obstruction of official duty.
Officers say Rose escaped early Feb. 10 from Grant County Jail, Medford, near the Kansas-Oklahoma state line.
He was being held in Grant County on Garfield County charges of possession of controlled dangerous substance, trafficking in a controlled dangerous substance, and manufacturing of a controlled dangerous substance.
The sheriff's department had been alerted to Rose's escape by the Federal Bureau of Investigation because he had ties in the area, Becker said.
Friday, civilians who were familiar with the report saw a man in Marion who resembled Rose. They contacted law officers. Becker searched the highways while Marion Police Chief David Mayfield searched the town. Becker found the vehicle, followed it, and stopped it in Lincolnville. He questioned the driver, identified as Marshall, and the passenger, but neither identified the passenger as Rose. Becker said the passenger eventually stepped out the vehicle. Becker handcuffed him, a routine precaution when investigating a suspicious vehicle, he said. The passenger then admitted he was Rose, Becker said.
No other officers had arrived to provide backup during the stop, so Becker said he "played dumb," to reduce tension and lessen the chance of any violent response.
Officers arriving on the scene were Kansas Highway Patrol troopers Roger Maag and Eric Rust, sheriff's deputy Lonnie Hiebert, Florence Police Chief Howard Kahler, and Mayfield.
Becker said Rose's foot had been injured during the escape from the Oklahoma jail. He apparently fell from an upper-story window while hanging from a cable television line, Becker said. The sheriff said Rose and Marshall came into Marion to buy crutches.
He was taken by a Marion-based ambulance to St. Luke Hospital for treatment of injuries before being placed in Marion County Jail.
Becker said the civilians, employees of the department, deserve credit for the arrest.
"You can double or triple your department, and it doesn't matter without civilian assistance," he said.
Rose was being held on $100,000 bond but has been extradited to Oklahoma.
