A fugitive who was captured in Loudon County on Nov. 9 attempted to escape from the Blount County Jail Wednesday night. The inmate was unsuccessful due to the design of the jail's structure.

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Must not have any money. Jail doors and criminal charges in this county disappear if you have enough money and know who's hand to shake.

-- Posted by David Cooper on Fri, Nov 21, 2008, 4:24 pm EDT (Report this)

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Jail's design thwarted escape by trapping inmate inside walls

By Jessica Stith
of The Daily Times Staff
Originally published: November 21. 2008 3:01AM
Last modified: November 21. 2008 12:19AM

A fugitive who was captured in Loudon County on Nov. 9 attempted to escape from the Blount County Jail Wednesday night but was thwarted by the design of the structure.

Blount County Sheriff James Berrong said a corrections officer discovered shortly after 10 p.m. that 31-year-old Christopher Allen Ellis, of Sunbright, had managed to break a hole in the ceiling of a medical cell in the jail.

Berrong said he felt confident that the inmate could not have escaped through the ceiling, but set up a perimeter around the jail property for "precautionary reasons."

"We knew that it was secure above the ceiling," Berrong said. "The community was not in danger."

Deputies surrounded the area and officers arrived to assist from Alcoa and Maryville Police Departments. Berrong said Loudon County deputies were also en route, as well as helicopters from the Knox County Sheriff's Office.

Once officers and deputies began searching the jail, Berrong said Ellis was "easy to find." He said there would not have been a way for Ellis to escape because there is no egress in the inner walls of the jail. He said the inner walls are made of concrete and steel.

Berrong said that once officers located the area above the ceiling where Ellis was hiding out, a corrections officer gave verbal commands to Ellis, which he complied with.

Deputies and officers brought Ellis out of the ceiling and back into custody in less than 30 minutes of his attempted escape.

"We've notified the FBI," Berrong said regarding the federal inmate.

He said he expects Ellis to be charged with attempted escape.

Berrong said Ellis is a proven violent offender and is "more prone to try to escape because of his history."

At the time that Ellis was arrested in Loudon County, he was wanted by the FBI in connection with a a bank robbery in Kentucky. He was also accused of kidnapping a man in Atlanta, taking him to Loudon County and then invading a home and tying up a Loudon County couple, who are the parents of a Loudon County deputy.

After several alleged thefts, authorities focused on searching a wooded area in Loudon County where Ellis was believed to be located. Multiple agencies gathered to assist in the search and apprehended Ellis.

Ellis was brought to the Blount County Jail for federal safe housing after his arrest.