MARION, Ark. (WREG) –The Crittenden County Sheriff’s office is looking for a fugitive who jumped out of a moving vehicle while still in handcuffs Tuesday night.
A bail bondsman, who did not want to be identified, said he had just picked up Cortez Brown, 25, from a liquor store off I-55, north of Marion, when Brown made a run for it.
Cortez was wanted for felony domestic battery and failure to appear out of Crittenden County and was on his way to the Crittenden County jail when he escaped.
“It was crazy. He could have gotten killed,” said the bail bondsman. “It scared me to death.”
He said Brown took off his seatbelt, opened the front passenger side door, and rolled out of his truck onto the service road along I-55. He said Brown was only wearing boxer shorts and socks.
“I slammed on my brakes,” he said. “He hit the pavement when I was going at least 20 mph.”
The bail bondsman said Brown put up a fight when he and another bondsman tried to take him into custody at Interstate Liquors around 8:30 p.m.
He said Brown finally calmed down, but a few miles down the road dived out of his vehicle near the Harvard One Apartments.
“I think he planned it,” said the bail bondsman. “By the time we got out, he was about 30 yards away,” bondsman.
The Crittenden County Sheriff’s Department said Brown has a lengthy criminal record that dates back to 2016.
In the past, he has been arrested for theft, making a terroristic threat, resisting arrest, domestic violence, and delivery of meth.
Crittenden County Crime Stoppers is offering up to $2,000 for information that leads to Brown’s arrest.
The bail bondsman who tried to take Brown in said he’s likely to put up a fight.
“It’s hard to contain someone who doesn’t care what happens to him.”
Brown is 5’5” tall and 133 pounds. If you see him or know where he is, call (870)732-4444.
