PAULDING — Authorities are continuing the search for an Ohio rape suspect who overpowered a sheriff’s deputy in a transport van, stole his gun and fled.
Sheriff Jason Landers described Branden Lee Powell, of Antwerp, as “very dangerous.”
“He’s armed and I want our citizens to understand that they have to be on the alert,” he said.
Landers’s office said Sunday that FBI and U.S. Marshals are also assisting in the search for Powell, 32, who overpowered a deputy on a trip Friday from a psychiatric hospital to a county jail.
“You don’t take a pistol from one of my deputies and threaten him with it. [Powell] is going to be held accountable for that when he’s located,” Landers said.
Powell was in leg shackles and handcuffs secured to a “belly belt” when he jumped over the seat and put the deputy in a headlock, causing the van to crash. Powell grabbed the deputy’s gun and ordered him to remove the restraints.
Powell was jailed last month on rape, attempted rape and sexual battery charges.
A $2,000 reward has been offered for information leading to his apprehension.