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July 18, 2008

Authorities comb area for escapee

By BOB GIBBINS

BARBER – Local and state authorities spent most of Thursday combing the rugged terrain of southeastern Cherokee County, looking for a man who fled Stilwell police earlier this week.

Cherokee County Undersheriff Jason Chennault said Jeffery Lopez, 25, ran from a residence in the Barber area Thursday morning as law enforcement personnel began surrounding the house he was in. Lopez allegedly ran out a back door, jumped a fence and entered a wooded area.

It was the second time in two days Lopez managed to escape the long arm of the law. Stilwell police had Lopez handcuffed and were unlocking a patrol car at the Stilwell Wal-Mart when he bolted Wednesday.

“The Adair County Sheriff’s Office received information he was over here [Cherokee County] in a house, and we went out to get him,” Chennault said. “We believe he caught a ride from someone to the house in Cherokee County.”

Chennault said Lopez was no longer in handcuffs when he again chose to run from authorities. He said sheriff’s office personnel from Cherokee and Adair counties, as well as Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers, Cherokee Nation marshals and United Keetoowah Band light horsemen, were part of the search effort. The OHP brought in dogs and mules to assist.

“The dogs tracked him to Highway 100 near the Barber Cemetery and then they lost his scent,” Chennault said. “He may have gotten another ride.”

Lopez stands approximately 6 feet tall and weighs about 175 pounds. He has short, dark hair and had a few days growth of facial hair when he fled in Stilwell. Chennault said authorities have not seen a firearm on Lopez.

“We are considering him armed and dangerous, based on his criminal history,” he said.

Lopez has convictions for arson and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon out of Adair County and is on a suspended sentence there until 2012. Prosecutors are seeking to revoke the suspended sentence, but no bond warrants have been issued for him.

Chennault said anyone with information concerning Lopez’s whereabouts should contact the sheriff’s office at 456-2583 or the nearest law enforcement agency.

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