Not the first time jail escapee has been on the run

by MATT HUGHES

J-E News Editor

Two weeks have passed since Marcle Jenkins, 29 of Kenova, WV, escaped from a Webster County Detention Center employee while at Baptist Health in Madisonville for medical treatment.

Jail officials say that at the time of his escape they had not received a copy of his criminal record and did not know that the inmate had a history of running from police. Jailer Terry Elder said last week that the detention center has taken steps to prevent that lack of information in the future.

 Since the escape, more information  on Jenkins’ criminal history has come to light.

On Friday, May 2, 2014, Jenkins appeared in Boyd County Circuit Court, where he was sentenced to 15 years for burglary and for being a persistent felony offender.

The burglary charge stems from an arrest in January when Ashland Police responded to a burglary call. Jenkins reportedly led officers on a half mile foot chase through the snow before being apprehended. But that’s not the first time Jenkins ran from police.

Jenkins was in the news in 2008 for another successful escape. At the time he was in police custody for burglary charges in West Virginia. According to The Herald-Dispatch, Jenkins was voluntarily leading Wayne County (WV)  Sheriff’s Deputies to stolen loot he claimed to have hidden near I-64.

Taylor Kuykendall wrote “According to Wayne County Sheriff’s Department’s Sgt. Chester Adkins, Jenkins destroyed the door panel of the police cruiser and then hot-wired the window system to force down his window.”

Jenkins, still handcuffed, led deputies on a foot chase before finally disappearing. He was on the loose for nearly a month before being captured near Charlotte, NC. North Carolina authorities charged him with felony breaking and/or entering with force and larceny after breaking and/or entering.

He also had burglary convictions in 2003 and 2005.

“Mr. Jenkins is still at large,” said Trooper Stu Recke, Kentucky State Police Post 2 Information Officer, said on Monday. “There is no new information on his possible whereabouts.”