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One of 2 Kentucky fugitives in custody
ASHLAND, Kentucky (CNN) -- One of two escaped convicts wanted in the abduction of a South Carolina woman was in custody Tuesday in Kentucky, police said, while a man thought to be the second one evaded authorities in a high-speed chase in Ohio. Branden Basham, 21, was arrested Sunday night in Ashland along the Ohio River after a brief gun battle with police, Ashland police Capt. Robert Ratliff said. Basham and Chadrick Fulks, 25, escaped from the Hopkins County Detention Center in Madisonville, Kentucky, on November 4. Ohio State Patrol officers said Fulks eluded them Monday night. Fulks and Basham are wanted in connection with the Thursday kidnapping and carjacking of Alice Donovan in Conway, South Carolina. Donovan's whereabouts remain unknown Tuesday, authorities said. Ratliff said Basham's arrest came after a woman reported a carjacking in Ashland. When a police officer responded to the 7:21 p.m. call, Basham fired two shots at him, and the officer returned fire. Neither was hit, Ratliff said, and officers chased Basham down to the city's riverfront. "We set up containment, continued our search, and within an hour to an hour and a half, he came out," Ratliff said. Basham had tried to hide in the river but surrendered "when he got too cold," the captain said. On Monday night, Ohio authorities spotted a stolen BMW at a rest area on U.S. Highway 23 near Marion, about 180 miles north of Ashland. State troopers chased a late-model BMW they identified as stolen and possibly linked to the case. They tried to stop the car by deflating its tires, but the vehicle and driver -- believed to be Fulks -- escaped. "Troopers tried to stop the vehicle by putting down stop sticks, but the suspect drove across the median and headed south on U.S. 23," said Lt. Ken Garlock. "Troopers tried a second time to stop the vehicle with stop sticks, but this time the suspect swerved onto the berm and continued on at a high rate of speed." Garlock said the pursuit went on for seven to eight miles with top speeds of 130 mph.
The BMW was last seen with a West Virginia license plate 4DK302. The plate was stolen from another vehicle and placed on the BMW, Garlock said. Authorities suspect Basham and Fulks in Donovan's disappearance in South Carolina. Security cameras recorded the alleged abduction at a Wal-Mart parking lot in Conway, near Myrtle Beach. The alleged kidnappers fled in Donovan's dark blue BMW with her ATM card, the FBI said. Basham was serving a five-year sentence for possession of a forged document at the time of his escape, while Fulks has a more extensive criminal record. Fulks was arrested in August in Kentucky on charges of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, giving a false name to police and 12 counts of using a stolen credit card. Police in Madisonville said Fulks was involved in numerous burglaries or thefts in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and South Carolina. They said federal officials also suspected him of stopping and robbing motorists using stolen FBI credentials. In addition to Donovan's disappearance, the men are suspected in the kidnapping of a Kentucky man the day after their escape. They also are wanted in connection with a burglary and shootout in South Carolina the same day Donovan was kidnapped.
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Name: Alice Donovan
