PRISONER ESCAPES FROM WORK PROGRAM

A St. Louis man arrested by Cape Girardeau police escaped from a work-release program on Friday and is still being sought.

Shemiah Lashawn Carter, 19, was arrested for several state and municipal warrants on Tuesday, Cpl. Kevin Orr said.

But around 11:15 a.m. on Friday, a supervisor noticed that he was missing from the Cape Girardeau Recycling Center at 120 N. Broadview St., Orr said.

By Friday evening, police had received no reports from area residents who might have seen Carter.

Carter is 5 foot 8 inches tall, and weighs 140 pounds. He had been wearing an inmate's orange jumpsuit.

Police are not sure whether Carter is still in the area.

Carter was arrested on Tuesday for state probation violations, including possession of a controlled substance and resisting arrest. He was also wanted on five municipal warrants for crimes ranging from assault to traffic violations, Orr said.

Police received an anonymous tip from Crimestoppers on Tuesday that allowed officers to arrest Carter at 545 N. Sprigg St.

Carter had been featured on television in "Mid-America's Most Wanted" in June, Orr said. "Mid-America's Most Wanted" is a 30-second announcement featuring local criminals that is aired during the national series "America's Most Wanted," Orr said.

Escapes by work-release prisoners occur infrequently, Orr said.

In 1996, an 18-year-old man had escaped from the Recycling Center with a 21-year-old prisoner. Although they had changed clothes, both were caught within two hours, police said.

A year later a 17-year-old boy was discovered hiding among weeds submerged up to his neck in a creek at Arena Park. He also had run off from the Recycling Center.

On April 12 this year, a 17-year-old boy ran off from the same work site. He called police within less than an hour to pick him up, complaining that he was wet and cold.

Escaping from custody is a class D felony punishable by up to five years in jail.