Fugitive, Missing North Alabama Teen Captured Near Hoover

HOOVER, AL — A chase that involved multiple law enforcement agencies ended near the Hoover/Bessemer line Monday morning when an escapee from Morgan County Jail and a 16-year-old girl from Lawrence County were finally stopped and apprehended.

A report by the Hoover Police Department said the pair crashed near exit 1 on Interstate 459 early Monday and were taken into custody by Hoover police.

At 5 a.m. this morning, a Hoover police officer on patrol spotted a suspicious vehicle occupied by a male and female, in the parking lot of the Hampton Inn on John Hawkins Parkway, according to Hoover PD. As the officer was speaking to the driver, he drove away at a high rate of speed.

It was discovered that the driver was John Kaleb Gillespie, who escaped from the Morgan County Jail and the female was16-year-old Peyton Bryleigh Ledlow of Lawrence County. Officers temporarily lost sight of the vehicle but located it again on John Hawkins Parkway and attempted a traffic stop.

The driver refused to stop and a pursuit ensued onto I-459 South. As the suspect was trying to get off I-459 at Exit 1, he lost control of the vehicle. Both subjects fled on foot and the female was captured after a brief foot chase. A perimeter was set and Hoover officers deployed an unmanned aerial vehicle “drone” to aid in locating the suspect.

The drone operator located Gillespie walking behind an industrial building and saw him get into an unlocked car. He was able to direct Bessemer Police officers and Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies to Gillespie’s location where they took him into custody.

See drone footage provided by the Hoover PD:

Gillespie, 30, escaped from the Morgan County jail in Decatur on Oct. 27 where he had been held since he was arrested Nov. 23, 2018, following a standoff with police in Decatur. At the time, he was wanted on charges of drug trafficking and attempted murder of a state trooper.

He has been required to register as a sex offender since 2009, when court records show he pleaded guilty to two charges of statutory rape in Morgan County.

State Troopers, the Jefferson County Sheriff's office, Birmingham police and Mountain Brook police were also involved in the chase.