Escaped inmate captured in Dallas County

Published 11:17 am Friday, January 25, 2019

An escaped inmate from Clarke County was captured in the Beloit area on Friday morning, according to Dallas County District Attorney Michael Jackson.

The male was identified by law enforcement as Corey Don Dobbins of North Alabama. Dobbins was an inmate at the Clarke County Jail and serving a sentence for stealing a truck and escape as a parole from LifeTech.

According to the Thomasville Times, Dobbins walked off from his work release site at Browder Veneer and Sons, a paper mill in the Thomasville Industrial Park around noon on Thursday.

Email newsletter signup

Dobbins was spotted by a Thomasville Police Department officer at Walmart, but they couldn’t apprehend him. He fled across Highway 43 and eventually reached Atkinson, a small community near the Clarke/Wilcox County line.

Dobbins stole a truck from a resident and left town. Clarke County Sheriff Ray Norris and TPD Chief Mitch Stuckey were notified of the stolen truck and called the Alabama State Patrol, Wilcox and Dallas County Sheriff’s Offices to set up road blocks.

Dobbins blew through the State Patrol road block near Safford. Jackson said Dobbins broke into a home in the Orrville area. Seconds later, the alarm sounded.  Dobbins fled into the woods. Dobbins was caught by Alabama State Troopers, 4th Circuit Drug Task Force, Clarke County Sheriff’s office and Dallas County Sheriff’s Office in Beloit.

Dobbins was brought back to Clarke County to serve his sentence for the truck burglary and the escape at the jail.  Jackson said Dobbins has two new charges, second-degree escape and first-degree theft of property.

Jackson praised the law enforcement units for working together.

“It was great law enforcement coordination,” Jackson said. “These criminals also need to know that they better stay out of Dallas County.”

Thomasville Times Editor Jeff Byrd contributed to this report.