Benton County man who escaped from Phelps County Jail charged with more felonies

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Warsaw, Missouri, man who escaped from the Phelps County Jail – and was eventually caught – this weekend is seeing more charges.

Jonathan S. O’Dell, 33, was charged on Monday with first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle and resisting arrest. A court date for the new charges has not been set.

O’Dell had federal charges of transmitting a threat across state lines to injure another person and unlawfully possessing a firearm. O’Dell and another man were arrested last year after federal agents arrived to his residence and eight or nine rounds were allegedly fired from the home.

Just after 11 p.m. Friday, two inmates escaped the Phelps County Jail by "comprising the structural integrity of the cell and exiting the building," according to a Sunday press release from the Phelps County Sheriff. The inmates were Steven Timothy Scott -- who turned himself in -- and O'Dell.

According to a probable cause statement, several law enforcement agencies were searching for O’Dell while he was on the loose. O’Dell was allegedly in a stolen pickup and seen by a Ray County deputy before 5 p.m. Sunday on Hutcheson Road near Highway 13. The deputy attempted a traffic stop when the truck began speeding while heading southbound on Highway 13, while traveling more than 90 miles per hour, according to the statement.

The chase eventually ended at the intersection of Bollinger Road and Highway V, where law enforcement agencies were staged, the statement says. Law enforcement officers approached the vehicle with weapons drawn and O’Dell allegedly gave himself up then. He was taken to the Caldwell County Jail, according to court documents.