ASHLAND CITY, Tenn. (WTVF) — An Ashland City reserve deputy is being credited for quickly turning a dangerous situation around after an inmate escaped custody.
Ricky Roach escaped custody on Thursday afternoon while being treated at a Cheatham County hospital. Law enforcement then put out an alert for the community to be on the lookout for Roach.
Cheatham County Sheriff Mike Breedlove said Ashland City resident and reserve deputy Steven Ellis was at home listening to scanners when he heard that an inmate had gotten away. The scanner mentioned Ellis' street, and right as he looked out of his window, he saw Roach in front of his mailbox.
"I was telling my wife, 'I'm gonna try to do a takedown on that subject,' so I went back inside to another room and grabbed one of my firearms and I went outside and approached him," Ellis said. "[I] said, 'hey I need you to get on the ground now.'"
Ellis approached Roach right in front of his home to detain him. Roach reportedly told Ellis that he wasn't going to run away, so he complied and got on the ground. The reserve deputy then called in to let authorities know his location and that Roach was being held at gunpoint.
"It could've turned a lot worse. He could've actually went to someone's house since a lot of people didn't know, and he could've maybe gotten someone's vehicle or car or took someone has hostage and be gone from the area and nobody would've known anything," Ellis said.
Officers immediately headed toward Ellis' home, and were able to take Roach back into custody.
