THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 10, 1995 TAG: 9506100274
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
Arthur O. Spruill was heading for his day in court Friday when he found a quicker way to freedom.
The 26-year-old Dare County jail inmate never appeared before a judge.
On his way to an 11 a.m. hearing in the downtown Manteo district courtroom, Spruill distracted a guard, jumped a stair railing and ran - unpursued - out of the courthouse toward the highway, police said.
Late Friday, the suspected cocaine dealer was still at large.
``I really don't think he's dangerous,'' Dare County Jail Administrator Dave Cowan said as police scoured Roanoke Island, searching for Spruill. ``We had him at the jail here since May 27 and had no trouble with him at all. He was fine.''
A 5-foot-10 black man who weighs 155 pounds, Spruill has short hair, a moustache and a slender build, Cowan said. He was not handcuffed when he escaped. He was last seen on Budleigh Street, sprinting toward Hwy. 64.
``He was wearing a white, pull-over, hooded sweatshirt, red and white shorts and good running shoes, like Reeboks or something,'' Cowan said. ``He was not armed.''
Cowan said Spruill had been in a courthouse office with his lawyer before a scheduled first appearance Friday morning when a guard came to walk Spruill back to a holding cell. As the guard and lawyer walked behind him, Spruill somehow diverted the guard's attention. When the guard looked one way, Spruill ran the other.
``He ran down the hall, out the door, and jumped over a railing. When he jumped down the steps, the detention officer realized there was no way he could catch him,'' said Cowan. ``The officer lost sight of him on Budleigh Street. Spruill was really running fast.''
Guards usually don't handcuff inmates when they are conferring with their attorneys, Cowan said. Spruill would have been handcuffed when he was back inside the holding cell. He was under a $40,000 bond.
On April 27, Spruill was arrested in Manteo and charged with felony possession of cocaine with the intent to sell and deliver and with one count of sale and delivery of cocaine.
Spruill listed his address as Rodanthe, where his mother lives. Police say he also has associates in New Jersey.
``He'll be charged with escape when he's recaptured,'' Cowan said. ``This has happened a couple of times before here, over the years, when inmates have gotten away at court. But it's not a very common thing.''
The maximum punishment for escape before a first appearance is 120 days in jail.
Police ask that anyone who sees Spruill or has information about his whereabouts call the Dare County Sheriff's Department at (919) 473-3481 or any local law enforcement office.
KEYWORDS: ESCAPED INMATE by CNB