A juvenile escapee on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s wanted list, who has been on the run since mid-April, was arrested in Oak Grove Thursday night.
Clarksville Police spokesman Jim Knoll says 16-year old Tai Harrell was captured around 11:00. He notes Harrell has been on the run since April 11 and has evaded capture by taking money or items from unlocked vehicles and stealing vehicles which were either left running or unlocked with the keys left inside. Knoll says police have been following up on all tips and information over the course of the last month and Harrell was spotted in a vehicle Thursday while police were doing surveillance in one of the known areas that he frequented. Harrell was followed into Oak Grove where the vehicle stopped at a Tyler Street residence. Knoll indicates Oak Grove police were contacted and allowed inside the residence where Harrell was found hiding in a closet and taken into custody.
Currently, police say there are 26 juvenile petitions on file while the investigation is ongoing and more charges are possible. In addition, police indicate more charges may be filed for those found to have harbored or assisted the juvenile. Knoll says the pickup stolen at the time of Harrell’s escape was previously recovered, abandoned at an apartment complex, but the gun has not been recovered.
Harrell was transported to a Kentucky juvenile detention facility. Knoll says his extradition will be coordinated through juvenile authorities and he has a court date in Hopkinsville on May 21.
