MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Shelby County inmate was captured over the weekend after walking away from a work site at a Lakeland Waffle House.
Crystal Hathcock was found Saturday evening by Memphis Police at a house at 1523 Preston. Someone at the address told them that Hathcock was there, and that she had a warrant for her escape the day before.
Officers found her there in a white Chevy Impala. She was taken to Jail East and faces one count of escape from felony incarceration, MPD said.
According to authorities, Hathcock was working Friday at an undisclosed location when she walked away in the company of a man named Tory Cole.
County authorities said Friday they believed Hathcock might be in danger with Cole.
Cole has not been charged in this incident, MPD said.
While county authorities didn’t say where she was working, workers at a Waffle House on Highway 64 in Lakeland confirmed Hatchcock worked there. They said she was quiet and hadn’t worked there long, but she never caused any problems.
They say she simply walked out and left after her shift ended Friday morning.
County records show that Hathcock has a lengthy criminal background, including 32 cases here in Shelby County. She was arrested in March, 2018 for three felonies and two misdemeanors, related to possessing a controlled substance. She was awarded a deferred sentence last May.
Cole, the man who possibly picked her up, also has a lengthy criminal background. His record shows 14 cases in Shelby County.
He was most recently cited in December for driving with a suspended license. He was most recently arrested in August, 2018 when he tried to steal beer from a gas station. He had been arrested five days prior to that incident for aggravated assault.
