Escapee ‘collared’ on theft charge

By Tiffiny Woo
Published: May 30, 2008

A Clio man was arrested Tuesday after a six-hour search by Barbour County Sheriff’s deputies and personnel from Ventress Correctional Facility in Clayton.
Dusty Grantham, 23, of Clio was arrested after allegedly fleeing the scene of a single-vehicle accident on State Road 131 near Baker Hill. Several people, including an infant, sustained minor injuries from the crash that occurred Monday night at approximately 7 p.m. Following the accident, an intoxicated Grantham fled barefoot into the nearby woods, said Chief Deputy Eddie Ingram.
Two tracking dogs from Ventress were used to locate Grantham who was wanted for probation violation stemming from previous drug charges. Deputies reportedly had to use Taser multiple times on Grantham.
“I couldn’t have gone through those woods barefoot,” said Sgt. Rodney Scarver with the Ventress dog-tracking team. Scarver has been training and tracking with the dogs at Ventress for nine years.
During the search, Grantham is believed to have removed a dog tracking collar from one of the beagle’s necks.
“When the dog finds them, they stop barking,” said Scarver. “So, we put the collars on them so that we can track them once they locate the subject or in case the dog goes missing during a search.”
Scarver believes the collar must have been discarded while Grantham fled through a marshy area of the woods.
“He ran dead through a swamp,” said Scarver. “He must have buried the collar or threw it in the water for us not to be able to pick up a signal from it.”
Grantham will be charged with resisting arrest and theft of property first degree for the dog tracking collar ($1,179).
“This isn’t the first time they (Ventress dog tracking team) have helped us out,” said Sheriff Leroy Upshaw. “We’ve called them on different occasions for escapees, missing persons or people fleeing in the woods like this.”
An Alabama State Trooper arrested the driver of the vehicle, 27-year-old Scott Domino. He will face charges of reckless endangerment.
Grantham is being held in the Barbour County Jail without bond.