Escapee from Wayne County state prison caught

Dec. 28– The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation today removed a state prison escapee out of Wayne County from its list of Top Ten Most Wanted fugitives after Georgia authorities apprehended him in Franklin County, Ga., late Sunday.

According to authorities, law enforcement pursued a high speed chase through Stephen County, Ga., into Franklin County, Ga., with Stephen Allen Hester, 26, who was wanted for escape after he got away Saturday from a CCA-managed prison facility in Clifton.

He was serving an eight-year sentence for aggravated robbery and abducted a woman from a nearby market after the escape. Hester left the woman at the Walmart in Savannah.

The TBI said spike strips were used along a highway to stop Hester’s vehicle. He was still driving the Chevy Malibu he stole from the woman he abducted. Hester was booked into the Franklin County Jail.

Additional charges against Hester are pending. There is no word yet on when he will be extradited.