Monroe County Sheriff’s Department leading manhunt for convicted felon who used hidden key to escape from deputies

UPDATE: Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies located and arrested Joshua Addington on Wednesday.

ABERDEEN, Miss. (WCBI) – A manhunt is underway after Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a man wanted by the Mississippi Department of Corrections only to have him escape his handcuffs and bail out of a patrol car.

“Once they had him located, secured and arrested, we really felt like this was over with,” said Monroe County Sheriff Kevin Crook. “But he had other plans.”

An arrest for parole violation because of a positive drug test escalated quickly after sheriff’s deputies found 31-year-old Joshua Addington hiding in his father’s attic Monday, armed with a loaded revolver, rifle and illegal sawed-off shotgun.

“This guy’s going from looking at a possible two-day weekend in jail for failing a drug test with MDOC to now, he’s got two new felony charges that carry five years and one of them I think carries 10 years,” said Sheriff Crook.

Addington was taken into custody without incident until the deputies got close to the Monroe County Detention Center.

About two blocks away from the jail, the sheriff says Addington used a hidden key to get out of his handcuffs and then bailed out of the patrol car when the deputies stopped.

He reportedly made for the woods and remains on the loose.

“We were getting calls that he was in the middle of a highway, crossing a bridge, he swam across a river,” said Sheriff Crook. “He’s constantly putting himself in danger every time he tries to flag down a vehicle.”

Sheriff Crook says Addington should be considered “dangerous and willing to do whatever it takes to evade law enforcement.”

“We don’t know that he’s got any weapons but like I said, he made it a priority to get his hands on some the first time, so we get assume he’s making it a priority to do that again,” the sheriff said.

However, Sheriff Crook says Addington does not have a previous history of violence and believes he is more of a danger to himself than the community

“We’re out there trying to get him rounded up before he hurts himself, before he steals somebody’s car, before he breaks into somebody’s house, before he wracks up 30 to 40 more years worth of charges,” Sheriff Crook said. “I mean, this is not a game.”

Addington is charged with Felony Escape and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. His father John Addington is being charged with Harboring an Escaped Prisoner. Sheriff Crook issued a reminder to the public that anyone else caught harboring Addington will also face felony charges. Anyone with information on him is asked to call 911.