Grayson County Detention Center escapee Joshua L. McDowell was apprehended on Thursday, July 19, by Kentucky State Police officers in Richmond, ending his 20-day stint as a fugitive.
KSP Public Affairs Officer Norman Chaffins explained the circumstances which led to McDowell’s arrest. State police’s Richmond Post was notified of a possible stolen vehicle traveling south on I-75 at around 6:43 p.m., and then located the vehicle on South Keeneland Drive in Richmond.
The operator of the vehicle in question was attempting to unload property from the vehicle, which, upon further investigation, was determined to have been stolen in Lexington on July 17. The items being unloaded from the vehicle are also believed to have been stolen.
At 7:00 p.m. troopers arrested the driver of the vehicle, 22-year-old McDowell, of Lexington, along with his passenger, 27-year-old Christie M. Hanley, also of Lexington.
Officers quickly realized that McDowell was wanted in Grayson County for escape in the second degree, and for kidnapping. He was additionally charged with receiving stolen property valued at under $10,000 and for being in possession of a stolen vehicle.
Hanley was charged with receiving stolen property valued at under $10,000.
Warrants for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest from Fayette County were also served on Hanley by Trooper Bobby Edwards, the investigating officer, who was assisted at the scene by Troopers Michael Keeton and Gregory Newman.
McDowell is currently being held in the Madison County Detention Center in Richmond on a $2,500 cash bond for his most recent charges, awaiting a court date.
McDowell was serving out a three-year sentence for burglary in the third degree when he escaped from the GCDC on June 29 by climbing a fence and fleeing on foot.
After leaving the grounds of the detention center, McDowell made his way to an area restaurant, Sonic, where he solicited a ride from an 18-year-old youth by saying he had broken down on the Western Kentucky Parkway.
Once in the vehicle with the youth, McDowell admitted that he was an escaped convict and took control of the vehicle, driving to Lexington, where he got out and was believed to be hiding in the Irishtown community.
Once McDowell has finished with the Madison County court system, he will be returned to GCDC to serve out the remainder of his term and face charges for escape and kidnapping.
















