NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – The Cheatham County Sheriff’s Office is trying to return a bike to its owner. Investigators said last week; an escaped inmate was caught on the side of the road, awkwardly speed-pedaling the bike.
Officers believe it belongs to a little girl. Investigators said the inmate traveled at least two miles before getting caught.
“That was the most bizarre thing,” Steven Ellis said. He explained he did not think he’d be the one to stop escaped inmate Ricky Roach. “I was in as much shock as anybody else would be when you look out and see the person they are looking for standing right in front of your mailbox, and you’re thinking, ‘What is going on now?’”
Ellis is a reserve deputy for Ashland City Police. Last Thursday, he heard on his radio that Roach was riding down Ellis’s street on a bike.
“I was in the kitchen, and I looked out the bay window, and to my surprise, here’s the guy that they are looking for,” Ellis said.
Roach was on the run for about two hours. Finally, he escaped from the hospital in Ashland City and eventually picked up a bicycle with only one pedal. Ellis said by the time Roach made it from the hospital to Bell Street on the bike; he was exhausted.
“I told him to get down, police and he said, ‘I’m not going to run anyway. I’m tired of running. I’m just going to lay here,’” Ellis explained.
The Chatham County Sherriff’s Office is trying to return the bike Roach took. Neighbors have offered to repair the bicycle or buy the owner a new one.
If that bicycle is yours, you can contact the Cheatham County Sheriff’s Office at 615-792-4341.
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