Iowa Woman Breaks Inmate Out Of Jail

EMAIL TO A FRIEND PRINT VERSION

RED OAK, Iowa (AP)—A woman who broke out a small-town jail inmate using a sawed-off shotgun early Monday was captured with the man about eight hours later in nearby Nebraska, officials said.

AP Photo/via Montgomery Co. Sheriffs office

Jessica Ann Johnson helped inmate Stuart James Andrew Sellers escape from the Montgomery County jail in Red Oak, Iowa, Monday, Jan. 7, 2008. Authorities consider the pair armed and dangerous.

Jessica Ann Johnson, 24, and Stuart Sellers, 33, both of Red Oak in southwest Iowa, were taken into custody in Omaha, Neb., by U.S. marshals and Omaha police. No shots were fired in the capture but details weren't immediately available.

Omaha is 45 miles northwest of Red Oak.

Johnson went to the Montgomery County Jail in Red Oak shortly before 1 a.m. under the pretense of bailing out another inmate, Sheriff Tony Updegrove said.

"Once she was allowed inside the foyer area, she displayed a sawed-off shotgun and ordered the jailer to let her inside the main area and also to open up the B cell where Stuart Sellers was located," Updegrove said.

Johnson and Sellers then locked the jailer inside the cell and walked out through the main entrance, he said. No one was injured and no shots were fired.

There are no metal detectors in the jail.

Johnson and Stuart were arrested Dec. 17 on drug-related charges. Johnson had been released on bond soon after her arrest. On Monday, both remained in Omaha pending extradition to Iowa on charges related to the escape.

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