A Centralia man who was convicted on burglary and theft charges in late August escaped the custody of the Lewis County Jail and fled into the woods Wednesday morning before he was recaptured.
Grant Olson, 30, was being transported to an American Behavioral Health Services van at about 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday when he reportedly escaped on foot, according to documents filed in Lewis County Superior Court.
Olson had entered guilty pleas in two separate felony cases on Aug. 31 and was granted a residential drug offender sentencing alternative (DOSA), which would allow him to receive treatment at a behavioral health facility instead of serving a jail sentence.
A detective reportedly looked for Olson after he fled on foot but the detective “was unable to find him,” according to court documents. A sergeant at the Lewis County Jail accessed video surveillance showing Olson “walking away from the transport van” and another detective soon indicated he saw Olson near the 710 block of Main Street, about half a mile away from the jail. The detective advised “Olson had fled into the woods,” according to court documents.
A deputy with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office located Olson “across a ditch” and took him into custody, according to court documents.
When he was captured, Olson reportedly indicated “he had swallowed a ball of heroin,” according to court documents. He was medically cleared then transported back to the Lewis County Jail.
He was booked into the jail just after 11:30 a.m. and was in custody on $100,000 bail as of Friday morning.
He now faces one count of first-degree escape, a class B felony that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
