COFFEE COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — The Alabama Department of Corrections announced Friday morning that an inmate has escaped from the Elba Community Based Facility in Coffee County.
48-year-old Johnny Lewis Payne escaped from the facility around 6:50 a.m. on June 2, according to ADOC.
Payne is serving a 20-year sentence for receiving stolen property, a crime he was charged with committing in Jackson County in 2012, as reported by AL.com.
Agents through both the Jackson County and DeKalb County Sheriff’s Offices at the time arrest Payne, from Bridgeport, in the Greens Chapel community. According to a release from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Payne had outstanding warrants for failure to appear on a contempt of court charge.
In that release, the sheriff’s office stated that Payne was arrested on the outstanding warrant, and was also charged with first-degree theft of property after investigators found a stolen vehicle in a barn. Payne had been a prime suspect for the theft of the vehicle. He was also found with methamphetamine, the release said.
A search of the vehicle found a small amount of liquid, believed to be “meth oil” and a small-caliber handgun, according to the release.
ADOC reports Payne to be white male, standing around 5’9, weighing about 170 pounds with blue eyes. He is bald and was last seen wearing a state-issued brown uniform.
If you have any information on the whereabouts of Johnny Payne, ADOC asks you to contact your local law enforcement agency, the Elba facility, or ADOC at (800) 831-8825.
