Indiana police seek man who got free of handcuffs, took sheriff’s truck
By Gregg Montgomery
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LIBERTY, Indiana (WISH) — Police in eastern Indiana are on the search for a Connersville man who failed to show up for court when a jury found him guilty and has pending charges for resisting law enforcement, according to Indiana State Police and court records.
Steven T. Lakes, 45, was driving a stolen Union County sheriff’s truck, a black Ford F150 with sheriff decals, state police say. Sgt. Scott Keegan also warned Lakes may have access to weapons, but gave no details. He was last seen going to Ripley County while wearing a black hoodie and black pants. Lakes was described as 5 feet 6 inches and 145 pounds.
State police share a photo of Lakes, but said he no longer has the facial hair shown in the image.
Members of the Union County Sheriff’s Office had arrested Lakes about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday and taken him into custody, but he slipped out of his handcuffs and took the sheriff’s truck.
“Lakes is wanted after nearly an eight-hour stand-off with police,” the state police said in a Facebook post, which provided no additional details.
Online court records show Lakes was charged in October 2021 in Franklin Circuit Court 1 with battery with bodily injury to a public safety officers, and resisting law enforcement. That case had a jury trial scheduled for September that was later postponed indefinitely because of a pending arrest warrant.
In August 2022, a jury found him guilty in Franklin Circuit Court 2 of multiple drug charges, but he failed to show up for the verdict during his trial, so an arrest warrant was issued. He was found guilty of dealing in methamphetamine, delivery of methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana, and possession of paraphernalia.
The pursuit led to a lockdown of Fayette County Schools, based in Connersville, which is about a 75-minute drive east of Indianapolis.
Liberty is about a 90-minute drive east of Indianapolis, and the county seat of Ripley County, Versailles, is about an hour’s drive south of Liberty.
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