An Edinburgh man who escaped from police custody last fall, resulting in a city-wide emergency notification in Columbus, has been found guilty in Bartholomew Superior Court 1.
After escaping and eluding police, Dustin A. Evans, 27, remained at large for nearly two weeks before he was arrested in Indianapolis in a multi-agency search and returned to Bartholomew County to face charges.
It took a 12-person jury one hour Tuesday to find Dustin A. Evans, 27, guilty of escape and unlawful possession of a syringe.
The former Franklin resident could receive 18 months to 8½ years in prison when he’s sentenced on the Level 5 and Level 6 felonies by Judge Jim Worton at 2 p.m. Nov. 22.
Evans was approached Nov. 16 after Edinburgh officers learned he was wanted on a Scott County warrant for possession of drug precursors, Edinburgh Police Chief David Mann said.
After officers discovered he was carrying methamphetamine and paraphernalia, Edinburgh officer Rana Bostock drove Evans to the Bartholomew County Jail, Mann said.
However, jail officials asked that he first be examined medically at Columbus Regional Hospital because it was believed the suspect had ingested narcotics, the police chief said.
After being released from the hospital, Bostock was driving Evans back to jail on the morning of Nov. 17, when the escape occurred, Mann said.
She allowed him out of her police car near Eighth Street and Central Avenue in Columbus after Evans said he was getting sick, the chief said. But when she went to put him back in the police car, Evans escaped, Mann said.
While his getaway resulted in several schools locking their doors and a large-scale search, Evans remained at large for nearly two weeks.
Although Evans was spotted by police at a Hope convenience store on Nov. 26, he got away a second time following a vehicle and foot chase in a Hope subdivision, according to police reports.
On Thanksgiving Day, police issued a statewide advisory describing Evans as armed and dangerous after it was learned he had been selling methamphetamine and guns hidden beneath a blanket in a vehicle, the advisory stated.
Three days later — on Nov. 30 — a multi-agency effort on the east side of Indianapolis resulted in Evans’ arrest.
On the day of his escape, Evans had been scheduled to be sentenced in Johnson Superior Court 3 on theft charges. In addition, he was also on probation for auto theft in Scott County, as well as for felony convictions of driving while suspended in both Bartholomew and Marion counties.
During Evans’ one-day trial, two police officers were called to the stand, but Evans chose not to testify on his own behalf, court officials said.
