BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

INEZ — A routine extradition turned chaotic Thursday when Timothy Wayne Roberts, 44, of Fort Gay, West Virginia, managed to briefly escape custody while being transferred after his arrest in Warfield, Kentucky.

Roberts, arrested on a warrant from West Virginia, now faces additional charges of escape and fleeing or evading police after a dramatic chase involving a creek.

Deputies had brought Roberts to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office in Inez where he was set to be handed over to jail transport officer D. Sweeney. However, the handoff went awry.

According to Deputy Justin Bellamy, Sweeney opened the booking room to exit and take a phone call. Seizing the opportunity, Roberts sprang from his seat and dashed out behind Sweeney, fleeing into the parking lot filled with bystanders before making a beeline for a nearby creek.

The escape was short-lived. Roberts stumbled down the embankment and tumbled into the creek, where deputies swiftly caught up to him and took him back into custody.

Bellamy later explained that the booking room is a controlled locked room designed to hold individuals until they are either transferred or post bond.