Andrea Klick
The Kansas City Star
RAY COUNTY, Mo. — After a nearly week-long search, U.S. Marshals took an escaped Ray County inmate into custody in Tulsa, the Ray County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday morning.
Justin Robinson, an inmate who escaped the Ray County Jail, had been on the run since Tuesday. Ray County Sheriff Scott Childers said Robinson, who was charged in January with several counts of first-degree domestic assault and endangering the welfare of a child for stabbing his pregnant girlfriend, was a danger to the community.
U.S. Marshals received a tip that Robinson would be at a bus stop in Tulsa, Oklahoma on his way to Texas, Childers said. Childers said he got the call at 10:25 a.m. from U.S. Marshals that Robinson was in custody.
Childers said he expects to release more information on the capture later Monday.
Security footage released Wednesday showed Robinson and another inmate escaping the jail. They used a shiv fashioned from metal they peeled off the walls to hit a jail worker around a dozen times in the neck before making their escape. The weapon was made of weak metal and bent before piercing the worker’s skin, so it didn’t cause serious injuries.
Local officials caught one of the inmates, but couldn’t find Robinson and urged the community to remain alert while he was on the run for days.
Childers said poor conditions at the jail, including rusty metal peeling from the walls and ceilings that can easily be kicked in, create health hazards and allow inmates to escape.
In 2021, Ray County residents voted against a sales tax increase that would’ve put money toward purchasing a new jail. Childers said he’ll continue pushing for change to prevent further escapes and suicides within the jail.
“I take this burden very seriously, wear it heavy on my shoulders,” Childers said. “Changes will be coming, and I don’t want to ever see this happen again.”
©2023 The Kansas City Star. Visit kansascity.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.