CLINTON – A 19-year-old from Clinton who eluded police for more than two days was captured late Thursday.

Timothy James Ezell, of 15 Diamond Ave., was arrested in a wooded area about 25 minutes after Clinton police received a tip from a caller, Chief Craig Johnson said. He is being held without bail at the Kennebec County jail.

Johnson said he and one of his officers were out searching for Ezell on Thursday when they received the call. At the time, they were just a short distance from Ezell’s location. “It was just a stroke of luck we were so close,” he said.

Police called in assistance from Maine State Police and the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office. A search dog team from the sheriff’s office found Ezell in the woods a short time later.

“He didn’t resist arrest,” Johnson said. “Once the dog was near him, that was it. It was over.”

Ezell was the subject of an intense two-day search after he escaped through the rear window of a parked police cruiser Tuesday night in Winslow. Officers from Clinton, Waterville and Winslow, as well as sheriff’s department dog teams, spent three hours looking for Ezell in nearby fields, roads and along the Kennebec River.

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The next afternoon, police picked up the search again when more than 10 officers from five agencies checked on tips throughout Clinton. Police worked into the early morning Thursday.

On Wednesday, police recovered a car in Clinton that had been reported stolen from Winslow hours after Ezell eluded police. It was undamaged, and the keys were inside. Johnson said Ezell is suspected of that crime. Partial fingerprints and potential DNA evidence from the car are at the state crime lab for analysis.

Ezell was arrested about 7 p.m. Tuesday after a car burglary was reported on Long Avenue, Johnson said. Two Clinton police officers, one of whom is an officer in training, drove Ezell to the Winslow police station for processing. The officers went inside, leaving Ezell in the 2011 Crown Victoria. Johnson said the window controls in the cruiser were operable and Ezell, who slipped out of his handcuffs, opened a window and escaped from the car.

Ezell is charged with escape and violating conditions of release. Before escaping Tuesday, Ezell was charged with burglary of a motor vehicle, violating conditions of release and consuming liquor as a minor.

Ezell eluded police once before, albeit briefly.

On Sept. 30, Ezell was arrested after he stole a car, drove it while drunk, crashed, tried to steal another car and then dropped 30 feet from a bridge into the Kennebec River while fleeing from police. He was arrested a few minutes later when he swam to shore. He later pleaded guilty to several charges, including burglary.

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Earlier that month, Ezell was convicted on an assault charge, fined $300 and sentenced to 30 days in jail. He was also convicted of charges including theft in two separate incidents in April 2011.

 

Morning Sentinel Staff Writer Ben McCanna can be contacted at 861-9239 or at:

bmccanna@centralmaine.com

 


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