DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT) – The Decatur Police Department (DPD) said that on the night of his escape from the Morgan County Jail, an inmate took a Decatur City van and heavily damaged it and a gate at the city’s maintenance compound.

The Morgan County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) reported that on March 5, Jeremy Taylor, 49, of Hartselle had escaped from the county jail. He was located in Franklin County, Tennessee and taken into custody during the early morning on March 6.

On March 6, DPD said City of Decatur workers reported to the city maintenance compound to find a van and gate “heavily damaged.”

With help from MCSO, DPD said they discovered that Taylor had caused the damage, which exceeded $2,500. As a result, Decatur Police obtained a criminal mischief warrant for Taylor and executed it on him in the Morgan County Jail on March 20.

MCSO said that on Sunday, March 5, Morgan County Jail corrections officers notified the sheriff’s office that Taylor escaped from the jail.

Jeremy Taylor (Photo: Morgan County Sheriff’s Office)

A post by the MCSO said that investigators and US Marshalls conducted over 20 interviews over 12 hours following taylor’s escape, gathering “tips from the public and other bits of information to determine the whereabouts of the escaped inmate.”

Taylor was picked up from the Franklin County Jail on March 7 by Morgan County transport deputies and brought back to Alabama, and booked back into the Morgan County Jail on a second-degree escape charge, in addition to his previous charges.

His escape charge was added to the following charges that Taylor was in jail awaiting trial for:

  • Two counts of domestic violence – rape
  • Two counts of burglary – breaking & entering auto
  • Kidnapping an adult for sexual assault
  • Two counts of first-degree sodomy
  • First-degree burglary of a non-residence
  • Unlawful possession of a controlled substance

On March 7, the MCSO said that Jodie Ann Kilpatric, 51, of Hartselle was arrested on a first-degree permitting or facilitating escape warrant for her role in Taylor’s escape.

Jodie Kilpatric (Photo: Morgan County Sheriff’s Office)

Investigators said they obtained the warrant for Kilpatric’s arrest after they discovered she allegedly assisted Taylor once he left the Morgan County Jail.

Taylor is being held in the Morgan County Jail and has a bond set at $250,000 for the second-degree escape charge.

Kilpatric is being held in the Morgan County jail in lieu of $2,500 bond.