Escapee sentenced to 25 years

A known cross dresser who fled authorities this past March has been sentenced to 25 years in prision.

Eugene B. Smith, who used pepper spray on a Crisp County Georgia Sheriff's Deputy before taking his car and escaping, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for escape, 10 years for aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer and five years for grand theft auto.

The sentences for aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer and grand theft auto will run concurrently.

Smith, who was found the following morning following his escape was being transported from Texas to Crisp County, Ga., when they stopped in Holt for a bathroom break.

He then took the police car, which was later found wrecked and abandoned in a wooded region off Leonard Barnes Road in Floridale.

Several agencies looked for Smith in the area, but he was located when a citizen called the following morning to report a black "female" attempting to hitchhike on Highway 90 near Timber Crest Road, which is in close proximity to where the search had been conducted the night before.

Santa Rosa and Okaloosa County Deputies took Smith into custody without incident.