Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Murder Suspect Escapes From Private Extradition Services

Justin P. Welch charged in a Wisconsin homicide escapes from private security guards in Arkansas, and eludes police

By H. Nelson Goodson
January 13, 2010

Van Buren, Arkansas -Justin Patrick Welch, 26, a murder suspect charged in the stabbing death of Kimberly Smith of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin has escaped while being transported by a private extradition service.
Police say Welch escaped in Arkansas on Wednesday, and is considered armed and dangerous. He was able to stab one of the guards, then grabbed his gun and fired shots at the second guard in a rest area on I-40 between Van Buren and near Fort Smith, Ark. just East of the Oklahoma border shortly before 2:30  a.m. on Wednesday. The guards stopped at the rest stop to allow prisoners to use restrooms according to the Arkansas State Patrol. Both guards survived the incident. 
Welch is listed as a white male, five foot eight and 190 pounds. Welch was last seen wearing a green jumpsuit with a black jacket.
Security guards from the North Atlantic Extradition Services a private company based in Mississippi were transporting Welch to Oconomowoc, Wisconsin to face homicide charges. Welch took a white Dodge prisoner transport van with Mississippi license plates LTC-537 and "North Atlantic Extradition Services" on its side. He then fled from the Arkansas rest stop, Oconomowoc Police Chief Dave Beguhn confirmed on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Beguhn said, the guards from the North Atlantic Extradition Services broke their rules, because they weren't allowed by the private security company to stop at public rest stops. They were supposed to stop at secured places or county jails only for restroom breaks.

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