BY EARNEST WINSTON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
U.S. marshals recaptured Kirby Edmund Peterson Wednesday in his hometown of Dayton, Ohio, ending an 11-week manhunt for the federal fugitive. He was one of two men who pulled a daring, fourth-floor escape from the Boone County Jail on July 6.
Mr. Peterson, 25, was serving 25 years for federal drug, weapons and escape charges. The sentence stemmed from a September 1996 arrest in Cincinnati, five months after he fled his trial in U.S. District Court in Georgia on separate drug and weapon charges. Mr. Peterson faces an additional 10 years for the most recent escape.
"It's still being determined where he'll be housed. He will be put in the most secure cell in the facility," said Jason Wojdylo, deputy U.S. marshal.
Federal officials said various leads resulted in the 11:15 a.m. capture of Mr. Peterson, who was using an alias. He was found in an apartment apparently set up for him by associates, Mr. Wojdylo said.
"There was no opportunity for him to resist, even if he wanted to," Mr. Wojdylo said.
His fellow escapee, Anthony Pike, 24, of Burlington, Ky., was found eight hours after the early morning July 6 escape, hiding under insulation in the attic of his sister's house in Covington. Mr. Pike received a five-year sentence for the escape.
Both inmates used hacksaw blades to cut through three metal bars, then broke out a fourth-floor window and lowered themselves to the ground on sheets knotted together. Officials think the blades were smuggled into the jail to Mr. Peterson during a July 5 visit. "We've taken security measures, both in the facility and policy, to make sure it doesn't happen again," said Boone County Jail chief deputy Edward Prindle. "Rest assured, we feel that it won't happen again."
At least two associates of Mr. Peterson, as well as inmates housed inside a cell with him, are among the more than 15 people who could face federal criminal charges for helping him. The investigation continues, federal officials said. Mr. Peterson fled from Boone County to Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton, they said.
U.S. Marshals tracked Mr. Peterson from Boone County to Cincinnati, where they say he remained for less than a day.
He then hid in an apartment near Ohio State University in Columbus. He was there for 1 1/2 weeks before fleeing to Dayton.
