DONIPHAN — A Ripley County inmate is in a Tennessee hospital after an attempt to escape from a second-story window during court proceedings left him with multiple broken bones.
Jerome Cole, 45, of Doniphan is expected to appear again July 3 at the Ripley County Circuit Court on assault charges for the hearing he originally fled from Friday.
Cole was one of 13 inmates waiting to see Judge Michael Pritchett when officials allege he used a distraction caused by another inmate to flee.
Reports state Cole went into a restroom, where he managed to remove his restraints and stripped down to his T-shirt and boxers. He then opened a window on the north side of the courthouse facing Lafayette Street and jumped to the ground, officials reported.
A citizen who was walking into the courthouse noticed Cole lying on the ground with blood on his face and reported it. He suffered broken bones in his elbow and leg, as well as lacerations to his face, officials reported.
Cpl. Taun Harber and Ripley County Sheriff Mike Barton arrived at the courthouse.
“We recognized the man on the ground as Jeremy Cole, and realized that he had jumped out of the window,” Barton said.
He added, “Cole is a repeat offender who has been in and out of jail and prison several times.”
The officers examined Cole, who was then transported to the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center for treatment of his injuries and then transferred to Elvis Presley Trauma Center in Memphis, Tennessee.
Cole was in court to face charges from an Oct. 21, 2021, arrest.
Cole is accused of two counts of the Class B felony of second-degree assault of a special victim, a Class E felony of resisting/interfering with a felony arrest, second-degree tampering with property of another, trespassing in the first degree and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. He has been held in the Wayne County jail in recent months and was transferred from Wayne County for his court appearance Friday.
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