Sheriff’s deputies say a 54-year-old man was able to briefly escape the Chatham County jail Wednesday night when he walked away from a work detail and into a waiting truck. Hours later, he was recovered in a trailer near the Bryan County line where narcotics agents found crack.
James Buchans is back in custody and will be charged with escape, a felony, said Robert Lipovsky, Chatham County Sheriff’s Office. Jennifer Smith Rowland, 33, the alleged driver of the pickup, was also arrested. She’s been charged with aiding escape, which is also a felony.
Buchans, who had been in jail since Dec. 7 on a drug-related probation violation charge, was assigned to a work detail in the jail’s video visitation center Wednesday night. While cleaning the facility, he walked out the back door and into the pickup, which then fled the scene.
Lipovsky said the incident is captured on video and an internal investigation is underway.
Sheriff’s office detectives and the U.S. Marshals Service were able to locate Rowland, who was suspected of driving the truck, in a trailer park off Fort Argyle Road near Bryan County. They enlisted the help of the Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team to search the premises about 10 a.m. Thursday.
While searching the trailer, narcotics agents found what they believe to be crack, said Gene Harley, CNT spokesman. CNT is conducting its own investigation into the drugs, and additional charges could be pending, Harley said.