Sex offender chased by Townsend police captured in Alabama
From Staff ReportsOriginally published: October 30. 2009 3:01AM
Last modified: October 29. 2009 11:52PM
After a six-day manhunt that started in Pigeon Forge, a convicted sex offender suspected in a Sevier County armed robbery was captured in Alabama Thursday.
Phillip L. Hammock, 38, was in custody in Jefferson County, Alabama. He had been on the run since Oct. 23.
Hammock was taken into custody at about 1:30 a.m. Thursday by the Cordova Police Department in Alabama.
He faces charges in both states:
Warrants in Jefferson County, Alabama, for theft of a vehicle and probation violation.
Armed robbery, evading arrest, possession of stolen vehicle, among others, in Tennessee.
The Pigeon Forge Police Department has extradition papers on file for Hammock, but it is not known when he will be returned to Tennessee.
The Townsend Police Department, with the help of the Blount County Sheriff's Office, pursued Hammock in Townsend following the armed robbery of a business in Pigeon Forge. The chase ended after Hammock crashed a stolen truck into a rental cabin in Townsend. Hammock then fled on foot into the heavily wooded area around Townsend.
Townsend Elementary School was put on lockdown during the chase, after school officials heard gunshots in the area.
About 60 law enforcement and other emergency services personnel from several area agencies participated in the search.
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