By Pat Culverhouse

A female prisoner found herself enjoying less than 15 minutes of freedom after managing to escape the fourth floor jail at the Webster Parish courthouse Wednesday.

Webster Parish Sheriff Jason Parker said 19-year-old Kaylee Jones of Springhill was taken into custody by a parish deputy at the Shell station on Lee St. just before 11:30 a.m. while apparently attempting to find transportation.

Jones was being held on charges of possession of CDS Sch. II (methamphetamines) and possession of drug paraphernalia after her April 4 arrest by Springhill police. Her bond had been set at $2,500. She now faces an additional felony charge of simple escape.

According to the Sheriff,  one of the safety lock mechanisms on the elevator door was in the process of being replaced which left the door slightly ajar.

“Jones apparently waited until one of our jailers was busy dealing with other inmates in a rear area and the other was inside the office. She got into the elevator while the deputies were distracted,” Parker said.

Parker said Jones managed to get inside the jail’s elevator, travel to the ground floor and walk out of the courthouse through the bottom floor ramp. She apparently was caught on a cell phone video as she shed her orange jumpsuit while walking past a nearby business.

After removing the jumpsuit, Jones reportedly walked south to the service station where Deputy Mickey Perryman recognized her from a description issued during a 911 call. He reportedly placed her under arrest without incident.

This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.