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JJC officials: Escapee may harm himself
By JOE GORMAN
jgorman@vindy.com
YOUNGSTOWN
Escapee at JJC
Video
Law enforcement is searching for Jeremy Britton, 17, who officials say scaled two fences topped with razor wire Wednesday morning at the Mahoning County Juvenile Justice Center. Britton is charged with armed robbery.
Officials say they are concerned a 17-year-old aggravated-robbery suspect who escaped detention Wednesday morning may try to harm himself.
Police, court staff, and deputies from the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office searched throughout the day for Jeremy Britton, 17, who officials said scaled a 20-foot fence topped with razor wire early Wednesday morning in an outdoor recreation area at the Martin P. Joyce Juvenile Justice Center on Scott Street. He then climbed a second standard-sized fence also topped with razor wire to escape.
As law enforcement personnel searched for Britton on several North Side streets because his family lives there, they got word a car was stolen in a strong-armed robbery on Adams Street by someone thought to be Britton.
Officers found the car and chased it in the McGuffey Road area on the East Side at speeds at times at 100 mph.
City police called off their pursuit, but they hung back and watched as deputies chased the car to a set of railroad tracks on Hubbard Road. There, the stolen car drove down the gravel rail bed and was abandoned on Logangate Drive. Police scoured the woods for any sign of Britton, including Hubbard police, but they could not find him.
A Youngstown police dog also searched several wooded areas but there was no sign of Britton.
The car he took was towed for evidence.
Juvenile Court Magistrate Carla Baldwin said JJC staff are concerned that Britton may harm himself because of information they received since he escaped. She said if anyone sees him they should call 911 and let police try to take him into custody.
Baldwin also said officials were concerned about the safety of the public as well.
Jason Lanzo, director of detention, said when Britton was in the recreation area he waited until security was far enough away that he would be able to scale the fence without being stopped.
“Once he saw an opportunity, that’s when he did it,” Lanzo said.
Lanzo and Wes Skeels, the court administrator, said they were unsure if Britton injured himself on the razor wire. They said shortly after he escaped it rained very hard, which probably would have washed away any evidence of him cutting himself.
Britton is 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighs 132 pounds and was last seen wearing a navy blue T-shirt and navy blue shorts. He has the words “Forever” tattooed on one side of his face and “Young” tattooed on the other.
About 5 p.m., police and county officials searched a wooded area off Hubbard Road looking for Britton. Police handcuffed four people who were also behind a business and let them go after questioning them.
Britton is one of four people charged in the April 3 robbery of the Burger King on U.S. Route 224 in Poland. Police said three men drove through the drive-thru shortly after midnight. They reportedly displayed guns, tied up multiple employees and made another go to the restaurant’s safe. The suspects then fled with cash, some of which police were able to recover.
Britton was arrested April 5 for the robbery by U.S. Marshals at a home on Halleck Avenue, which is one of the places law enforcement personnel were searching for him just after it was reported he had escaped.
Lanzo said there has not been an escape from the recreation area, but some youths in detention have tried to scale the fence before but failed.