Man who allegedly led police on chase arrested in Illinois

A suspect in a Jackson assault who escaped from police custody over the weekend was arrested Wednesday in Williamson County, Ill., according to Jackson police.

Jeramie Oakley, 29, of West Frankfort, Ill., led police on a car chase Friday that began in Jackson and ended on Highway 3 in Illinois, when he was arrested and incarcerated at Tri-County Correctional Center until he could be extradited to Missouri.

When Oakley began complaining of chest pains, he was taken to Union County Hospital in Anna, Ill. On the recommendation of doctors he was then transported to Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, and Jackson police weren't notified that he'd left Illinois, said Jackson Sgt. Scott Eakers.

"No one contacted us, or we would have been there," Eakers said.

Eakers said Illinois State Police turned responsibility for Oakley over to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, but he wasn't under constant watch because his condition was believed to be too severe for him to be getting up and walking around.

Eakers said the confusion over who was responsible for Oakley, who was believed to have left the hospital Sunday between 11:30 p.m. and midnight, was a miscommunication.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol deferred comments about the incident to the Jackson Police Department.

Oakley was apprehended Wednesday morning at a residence in Pittsburgh, Ill., Eakers said. He was believed to have been staying with some friends there and was arrested while leaving the residence to walk to his car. A small amount of narcotics were recovered from him by Williamson County deputies, police said, and criminal charges are pending against him in connection with the drugs.

Because of the pending charges, Missouri will wait to extradite him to Cape Girardeau County to stand trial, but Jackson police are preparing the extradition paperwork, Eakers said.

Oakley faces charges in Cape Girardeau County on burglary, three counts of assault, armed criminal action, two counts of resisting arrest, felony harassment and leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident.

According to court documents, authorities started searching for Oakley on Friday after he allegedly broke into an apartment in Jackson and threatened his ex-wife, Rebecca Holt, and another man, with a screwdriver. In August, Holt received a protection order against Oakley, the statement said.

Eakers said Holt was visiting Oakley at the hospital when he left but that there is no evidence that she aided him in the escape.

Holt said police previously mischaracterized the altercation with Oakley as a "lover's quarrel" and that she had been in fear for her life because of Oakley's threats.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

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