By Kristy Deer | Daily Reporter
HANCOCK COUNTY — It was a brazen, well-thought-out escape plan by inmate Tyrell Deshawn White, and he pulled it off, at least for now, law enforcement officials said.
However, Titiana Lashell Evans, a woman now accused of helping White escape after he ran from jailers Sunday night, is in custody facing felony charges.
White, 22, Indianapolis, was still at large at midday Tuesday, Jan. 12, after escaping from the county jail around 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 10. He is considered armed and dangerous.
According to officials from the Sheriff’s Department, White was assigned as one of three inmate workers at the jail and was taking trash out to dump in large bins. The bins are outdoors behind the jail.
Although he was being supervised by two jail officers, White was not in restraints, said Capt. Robert Harris, public information officer for the sheriff’s department. White was considered a trusted inmate worker, Harris said.
White took off, running south. Jailers immediately gave chase but lost sight of him as he was running along State Road 9 near Osage Street.
Deputies quickly set up a perimeter and searched the area using drones and police dogs but couldn’t found him. After going back and listening to recordings of phone calls between Evans and White, officials soon determined White had orchestrated a plan that included a getaway with Evans, who apparently met up with him with a car at the Hancock Hope House, 35 E. Pierson Street, Harris said. The county homeless shelter is just a few blocks south of the jail.
Evans, 23, whom Harris described as White’s girlfriend, is now in custody facing felony charges of assisting a criminal and escape.
Meanwhile, after hearing about the escape, someone contacted the Greenfield Police Department with a report about a suspicious person in a Chevrolet HHR in the parking area at Hope House. The vehicle had been there for an extended period of time, and the caller thought it was odd.
The caller told officials they had video of the car.
Thanks to the tip, officers late Sunday night located the vehicle, which was registered to Evans, parked outside her east-side Indianapolis apartment. When police caught up with her, Evans told them White had been dropped off at his mother’s house in Indianapolis, Harris said.
Officers then went to White’s mother’s home and searched the house with the help of Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers. However, White was nowhere to be found and is still at large.
The search continued Monday.
White is listed as 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighing around 160 pounds. He has a tattoo of an ornate cross on his chest. He is also known to use the name of his twin brother, Trayvon White, and was last seen wearing gray sweatpants and a gray sweatshirt.
White was in the county jail after originally being arrested by the Fortville Police Department in July 2020. He was awaiting a trial in March on multiple charges, including a Level 4 felony count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon; a Level 6 felony count of automobile theft; a Class A misdemeanor count of driving while suspended with a previous conviction; and a Class B misdemeanor count of providing false information.
The most serious charge carries a sentence of up to 12 years in prison.
Harris said White also has an outstanding warrant in Marion County on charges of armed robbery and theft. Investigators with the sheriff’s department and other assisting agencies, including officials from the U.S. Marshals Service, are continuing the investigation.
Harris noted while officials do not believe White is currently in the county, the public should use extreme caution if they see him and call authorities immediately. IMPD investigators believe he is either in Indianapolis or has fled the state.
“He’s known to be armed, violent and dangerous,” Harris said. “Anyone with information on the whereabouts of White is asked to call the Sheriff’s Investigations Division at 317-477-1199.
As for Evans, she is being held in the county jail awaiting her initial appearance in court today (Tuesday, Jan. 12). She faces a Level 5 felony count of escape and a Level 6 felony count of assisting a criminal.
