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Escapees fled in the name of love

  • Gheni Platenburg •
  • Originally published August 13, 2010 at 7:03 p.m., updated August 13, 2010 at 10:40 p.m.

Love, Lies and betrayal.

That's the story family and law enforcement says is behind the couple who surrendered in Victoria on Thursday, after escaping from the custody of Louisiana's Winn Parish jail Wednesday morning.

Victoria County Chief Deputy Terry Simons said Jamie Dianne Malone, 27, and Thomas Ray May, 33, surrendered when they called sheriff's deputies sometime before 6 a.m. Thursday morning, from the parking lot of the Raisin Windmill convenience store, 9098 U.S. Highway 59 South.

Winn Parish Sheriff A.D. "Bodie" Little said by all accounts, Malone and May had recently become "romantically involved."

The lovebirds worked as trustees, Malone in janitorial services and Thomas, aka "Peanut," in the laundry.

While completing their trustee duties, the two likely met, said Little.

"I guess they got to bonding some kind of way," he said.

Little said a jailhouse rumor that Malone was getting transferred to a separate jail facility supposedly sparked the couple's decision to run.

May was serving time for carnal knowledge of a juvenile, while Malone was in jail on multiple drug charges.

The sheriff said a phone call made to deputies about a false wreck Wednesday morning was used to distract them while Malone and May, who were in the midst of completing their trustee duties at the Winn Parish Courthouse, made their getaway with the help of 21-year-old Rose Marie Mitchell-Walker.

The couple's escape marked only the second successful escape from the correctional facility since 2008.

Walker's mother, 49-year-old Yvonne Taylor, said her married daughter had an ongoing relationship with May and was duped into helping both May and Malone escape from custody.

"They had been talking on and off and he told her he was about to get off on parole," said Taylor, a Natchitoches, La. resident.

Taylor said her daughter met May around a year ago while they were both serving time in jail.

Walker's mother said she learned about the escape and Malone's presence when her daughter called her sometime after the group had fled.

"He told her that was his cousin," Taylor said about how May introduced Malone. "He was just feeding her a bunch of mess."

She continued, "He very much took advantage of her."

Taylor said she encouraged her daughter, who suffers from bipolar disorder and manic depression and has been off her medication, to return to Winnfield and surrender.

At that point, however, Taylor said Walker had supposedly become a kidnapping victim.

"They took over her car and threw her cell phone out," said Taylor, as she described the last phone conversation she had with her daughter before they surrendered. "She became the victim of their mess."

Although Little said investigators were still piecing together details of the escape, Winn Parish deputies do know the group stopped in Lake Charles, La and Houston before coming to Victoria.

Little speculated the group, with the possible financial help of relatives, was headed to Mexico in Walker's green 1996 Grand Prix.

"There may be further arrests out of this other than Rose," said Little.

It is not known if the group committed other crimes while fleeing law enforcement, but Little said it was unlikely.

"Thomas May and Jamie are not hardened criminals," he said. "I don't think this was a Bonnie and Clyde type deal."

For her involvement in the escape, Walker was charged with two warrants for permitting/facilitating escape from a correctional facility, which are third-degree felonies.

The group is in custody at the Victoria County jail, being held as fugitives for Winn Parish Louisiana.

As of Friday, arrangements were still being made to extradite the three to Louisiana.