Manhunt in Munson continues

Local law Enforcement says Ricky Spears is still at large, but they are confident he will be located and taken back into custody.

Marc Ward, spokesman for the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, said on Monday afternoon that Spears would have to come out soon.

“With all the bad weather coming in to the area, all the rain and lightning, he is going to be cold, hungry, and miserable. He will have no choice but come out,” said Ward.

 “There are a lot of people out there who are going to report any sighting of him. If no one is there to help him with food and supplies, he won’t last long out there.”

On Friday afternoon, the mobile command center was moved out of Munson and returned to Milton, due to the arrival of Tropical Storm Fay.

Santa Rosa County CrimeStoppers and the U.S. Marshall’s Service had announced a $5,000 combined reward for information leading law enforcement to either escapee.

Local law enforcement, along with officers from the U.S. Marshall’s Service, had been searching around the clock for Spears since Wednesday when they received a tip and confirmed a sighting of him in the area north of Highway 4 in Munson.

Over 40 deputies form the Santa Rosa Sheriff's Office responded, along with K-9 teams from the State Prison, the Escambia County Sheriff's Office helicopter, and other assisting agencies, including Milton Police Department.

K-9 officers tracked from the area where the confirmed sighting occurred to a wooded area that disclosed a campsite believed to be that of Spears. The campsite had a shelter made of tarps and other items necessary for survival.

Late Wednesday the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office arrested Franklin Dwight Spears, Ricky Spears’ father, and charged him with aiding an escapee.

According to Sgt. Scott Haines, public information officer with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, evidence clearly showed that he had been aiding Ricky Spears since the time of his escape.

A command center was established at the intersection of Highway 4 and Munson Hwy. Last week, Haines had said the search would continue until resources, tracks, and leads were exhausted.

Munson residents had reported a police cruiser caught on fire the first day of the search.

“The cop car pulled out into a field and the exhaust caught some grass on fire. They had to call out the fire department and the car burned to the ground,” says Stella Jernigan who works at Ruth’s, the store at the intersection of Hwy 4 and Munson Hwy.

On Monday afternoon, Ward confirmed the report was true. He says the police cruiser did catch on fire and was a total loss.

“I am not sure of the total value of the loss, it depends on the age and type of cruiser it was. I am going to have to look into it,” said Ward.

Spears, 43, and David Chappell Dixon, 20, have been sought by law enforcement since they squeezed through a “design flaw” and escaped from the Santa Rosa County Jail on July 26.

Spears, who is a convicted felon, was in jail following a manhunt after officers tracked him down in connection with a missing 14-year-old girl. He was found hiding under a Munson-area home with the 14-year-old girl in question.

Dixon was being held while he awaited trial on charged of armed robbery, aggravated battery, and escape stemming from the June 2007 robbery of TCBY/New York Burrito in Pace.

Dixon is also facing an additional attempted escape charge from an attempt this past January that was foiled.

Since the escape Santa Rosa County Sheriff Wendell Hall has been conducting an investigation into the situation, while the “flaw” is being addressed and corrected.

Law enforcement says if either subject is sighted, the public should not attempt to apprehend them.

Both suspects are considered dangerous.

If you have information on Ricky Spears or Dixon’s whereabouts you can call 437-STOP (7867) or the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office.