Escape charge could add to prison sentence

After not showing up for his jail sentence in June, a Columbus man was back in Lawrence County Common Pleas Court Wednesday charged with escape.

Cameron Simmons, 34, was sentenced to six years in prison for possession of crack cocaine, tampering with evidence, possession of drugs and misdemeanor assault stemming from a February incident in Ironton.

Simmons was arrested by the Ironton Police Department after the department responded to a call of a man and woman fighting at Shenanigans bar on South Third Street. When officers arrived, Simmons fled.

During the chase, Simmons stashed a head covering in a dryer vent of a nearby home, which contained crack cocaine, ecstasy pills and Oxycontin pills. DNA found on a bag recovered from the scene linked Simmons to the crime.

Simmons pleaded guilty to the crime but never reported to jail. Simmons was out on a $125,000 bond that a surety company posted, said Brigham Anderson, assistant prosecuting attorney.

Rather than pay the court $125,000, Anderson said the surety company found Simmons 10 days later in Houston, Texas, and awaited extradition back to Lawrence County.

Simmons pleaded not guilty to the escape charge Wednesday. Judge Charles Cooper set a $200,000 cash or surety bond and scheduled a pretrial for Nov. 30.

If found guilty, Simmons could get a maximum of three years added to his original six-year sentence, which must be served consecutively.