Killing suspect caught after jailbreak

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Michael Berry, who escaped from custody Thursday while awaiting trial in the 2004 vehicular homicide of a local preacher's wife, was caught Friday after leading authorities -- who described him as "desperate and dangerous" -- on an exhaustive 13-hour manhunt.

"This man is so dangerous that his own parents had called my office to warn me to keep the bond high because he would hurt someone if he ever got out," said Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle. "It was very alarming when I found out he escaped. I am very pleased he is back in custody without anybody being hurt."

Berry, 26, of Sedgewickville, Mo., was being held in the Mississippi County jail on three separate cases, all of which originated in Cape Girardeau County. Swingle said that Berry was being held in the courthouse in Charleston, Mo., because one of the charges was a change-of-venue case.

Berry was facing one count of manslaughter and two counts of felony assault in the Feb. 13, 2004, death of Rebecca Larkin of Chaffee, Mo. Prosecutors claim that Berry had been driving under the influence of methamphetamine when he passed a tractor-trailer on a curve in a no-passing zone on Highway 25 two miles south of Gordonville. Berry had a head-on collision with a car being driven by Larkin's husband, Darren Larkin.

Rebecca Larkin died at the scene, and Darren Larkin and Berry's passenger were seriously hurt. Berry faces up to 45 years in prison in the manslaughter case.

According to jail administrator Bob Whitehead, Berry and fellow inmate Jeremy Warren, 18, escaped about 11 p.m. Thursday through an access door that leads to an engineering room. Whitehead said the men were able to bend the bottom of a steel door that had a hollow core. This did not set off the security alarm at the top of the door.

The men squeezed through the small opening and then out of the building through an exhaust vent. All access doors are currently being replaced with solid steel doors, Whitehead said.

"He's slick," Whitehead said of Berry. "I can tell you, I don't think Jeremy Warren would have left if it wasn't for Berry. I'm sure he instigated the whole thing."

Warren, who was in jail on assault charges, was caught and returned to custody early Friday morning. Berry was apprehended about noon Friday on the back porch of a residence in East Prairie, Mo., after police spotted him trying to hide.

Berry was returned to the Cape Girardeau County jail Friday afternoon, where he is being held on a bond of $275,000.

The East Prairie Police Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Mississippi County Sheriff's Department searched all night. A police helicopter had been brought down from Jefferson City to assist.

Mississippi County Prosecuting Attorney Darren Cann said both men will face additional charges for escaping from confinement and damaging jail property. He said other charges could be forthcoming.

Berry's attorney, public defender Jason Tilley, could not be reached for comment Friday.

Swingle said that Berry had a two-day trial scheduled to start Tuesday this week. But his attorneys said Berry had been taken off the medications Xanax and Zoloft by jail physicians, which they claimed made Berry unable to participate in preparations for his defense. Swingle said the trial for manslaughter was rescheduled to start June 1 in Bollinger County on a change of venue.

"It was very frustrating that he had escaped," Swingle said. "If things had gone like I expected them to go, the trial would have been over."

In another case, Berry is facing charges of possession of a prohibited article inside a county jail facility because police say he was caught with a cigarette lighter hidden in his shoe in late 2004. In the third case, Berry faces a charge of third-degree assault for allegedly punching a fellow prisoner.

Swingle said that Berry also had pleaded guilty to a felony rape charge stemming from a 1996 incident.

On Friday morning, the victim's husband, Darren Larkin, was notified by the Mississippi County Sheriff's Department that Berry had escaped.

"The first concern that I had was that he's drug dependent," said Larkin, who has been out of a wheelchair since last May. "I was afraid that he would get back on drugs and do the same thing."

Larkin said that he had hoped Berry will turn his life around.

"Ultimately, I'm a preacher," he said. "My hope is that the boy will change his life. I believe for the community's sake that, if he doesn't, he needs to be incarcerated for a long time."

Larkin said that's he's doing much better, though still not back to 100 percent. The emotional healing hasn't been as easy.

"My wife was only 36 years old," he said. "We had a 20-year marriage and she would have lived several more years. That young man cost us everything."

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137