Two arrested after hiding inside closet

Officers were forced to use a battering ram in an attempt to arrest a Jackson, Mo., woman police described as a fugitive from justice.

Lisa Umfleet, formerly of Jackson, was arrested early Wednesday after less than a month on parole. She and her boyfriend, also wanted by police, were found hiding in a closet in a Cape Girardeau apartment.

In 1997, Umfleet was charged with promoting child prostitution and aiding and abetting a statutory rape involving her 12-year-old daughter.

She pleaded guilty to the statutory rape charge and received a 5-year sentence.

The case caught the public's attention because Umfleet allegedly let a 17-year-old have sex with her daughter in exchange for a $15 piece of crack cocaine.

Umfleet, 38, was released Jan. 8 from prison. When she hadn't checked in with her parole officer by Jan. 10, she was listed as a parole absconder.

According to police reports, Cpl. Rick Price, acting on a tip from a confidential informant, headed to Umfleet's son's apartment at 507 Cape Meadows.

Also inside was Tyrone D. Steele, 19, who was wanted for escape from a St. Louis community release center.