Escapee Caught in Montgomery County
Robert Lee Presgraves is back in custody after a Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputy found the escaped inmate walking down Highway 56 outside of Mount Vernon on the morning of Saturday, May 14.
Law enforcement had been searching for Presgraves since May 5 when he fled from the Toombs County Courthouse after an altercation with a jailer following his sentencing for previous charges for weapons and theft. He had been transported to court from a rehabilitation facility by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department that warned the Toombs County Sheriff’s deputies about Presgraves’ tendency to flee custody.
Following sentencing, Presgraves managed to escape his handcuffs while in the decontinued from page
tention center transport vehicle, then stole a Pineland Paper box truck parked outside the courthouse and drove south on Georgia Highway 178. He later abandoned the truck on Mount Moriah Road and fled on foot into the woods.
Toombs County Sheriff’s Office, Lyons Police Department, Tattnall County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia State Patrol Post 18 (Reidsville), Georgia State Patrol Aviation Unit, Georgia Department of Corrections K-9 Unit, and the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Division all joined efforts to locate Presgraves upon the discovery of the truck, but were unsuccessful.
Montgomery County Sheriff Deputy Matt Mallory was patrolling the county when he discovered Presgraves, 39, of Uvalda, walking approximately 1.5 miles south of Mount Vernon. Mallory identified Presgraves and took him into custody without any resistance. Presgraves commented to Mallory that he was “tired of running.”
Presgraves was transported back to the Toombs County Detention Center, where he remains at this time. In addition to the charges for which he was previously sentenced, Presgraves now faces additional charges of theft of an automobile, felony escape, and a misdemeanor charge of simple battery.
The Toombs County Sheriff’s Department released a statement commending Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department for their efforts. “Thank you to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department for bringing this investigation to a close,” it said.
