“Any person involved in aiding or assisting Cooper will be charged,” the Mason County Sheriff’s Office wrote on social media Wednesday morning.
The sheriff’s office asked residents to be vigilant both in Mason County and the surrounding area.
The Mason County Sheriff’s Office announced they caught Roy Butler Tuesday afternoon.
We spoke to the Mason County Chief Deputy Colten Linville on Tuesday, who told us Butler is cooperating.
Linville says Cooper is believed to be in the area and they are searching Mary Ingles Highway to the Mason-Brackett county lines and the Ohio River.
According to Linville, two Kentucky State Police choppers, a drone, fish and wildlife and “concerned residents” are helping with the search.
In a release, the Brown County Sheriff’s Office said the two escaped between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. Monday night.
Linville says there is no reason to believe the two had help on the outside.
The inmates damaged a security window, allowing them to escape through the police impound lot at the jail, the sheriff’s office said. According to Linville, the inmates crossed the river on a paddle boat and walked from there. Linville said the two split up about a mile away from the Dover Volunteer Fire Department, where Cooper started walking east and was last seen in the area around 9 a.m. Tuesday.
Cooper is considered armed and dangerous and is wearing no shoes with his jumpsuit, but he has occasionally removed his shirt, Linville said.
According to Linville, Cooper is from the Dover area where he has family and friends. Residents in the area are on lockdown, Linville said, and are encouraged to stay inside. The Maysville Police Department said Dover school children who ride the bus home should be met at their bus stop and escorted home by their parents.
Cooper was in jail on charges of attempted murder, felonious assault and having weapons under disability. Butler had been charged with aggravated trafficking in drugs and having weapons under disability. The sheriff’s office said both men will now face additional escape charges.
According to court records, Cooper was indicted on his charges in May. Court documents say Cooper and another man were paid by a third man to murder someone. Documents allege that on Feb. 10, the co-conspirator drove Cooper to the victim’s house and waited in the vehicle while Cooper rang the doorbell of the home.
When the man living there answered the door, Cooper allegedly shot him in the chest and ran, eventually jumping into the vehicle with the other man.
Court records show Butler was charged with four counts of aggravated trafficking in drugs in July. Documents filed in the case say Butler specifically is accused of selling methamphetamine.
BCSO said anyone who finds Cooper should not approach him and instead immediately contact Detective Sergeant Charles Ernst at 937-378-4435, ext. 126.
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