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Authorities on Tuesday were searching for a Forrest City man who escaped from the St. Francis County jail, according to an Arkansas State Police news release.
Jail staff realized Christopher Davenport, 38, was missing during a routine inmate headcount around 7 p.m. Monday, the news release states. Davenport was a trustee inmate at the time of his escape, the release states and was awaiting trial on felony charges, including ones related to a September shooting.
Davenport has been held in the jail since Sept. 19, when Forrest City police, state police and U.S. Marshals arrested him after finding him hiding under a bed at the 408 D St. residence which Davenport was paroled to, according to a news release from Forrest City police at the time.
Investigators reviewed video footage of Davenport shooting Nautica Gardner in the leg on Sept. 1 at Star One Food Mart in Forrest City, the news release states. Davenport then fled.
Davenport was awaiting trial on multiple felony charges when he escaped, according to the state police news release, including first-degree battery, two counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and weapons charges. He faced additional charges after his arrest by Marshals, the release states, although it doesn’t list those counts.
Grant Lancaster
Grant Lancaster covers crime, policing and breaking news for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. A Little Rock native, his articles focus primarily on crime and law enforcement efforts in Pulaski County, although he reports on other parts of the state as well.
