Raw video: Backhoe chase, manhunt lead to arrest in Houston County

 A Henry County man wanted on felony charges, who authorities called armed and dangerous, evaded Houston County deputies for nearly 24 hours by fleeing on a backhoe, hiding under a hollow log in the lake and hitching a ride from a passing boater, claiming he’d been injured.

James D. Perkins, 29, who gave a Paris, Tenn., address, was charged in Houston County with felony evading arrest following his capture Monday morning.

Investigator Jason Clark expected to add charges of aggravated burglary and theft, and said other charges could be pending.

Clark said it began Friday night when a Houston County resident contacted the Sheriff’s Office about a dispute between the resident and Phillip Jackson, 44, also of Paris, and Perkins about the price of a construction job.

The pair left before officers arrived, and Clark said they later learned Perkins was wanted on charges of rape, kidnapping, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment with a vehicle in Henry County.

Deputies watched the residence on Saturday to see if Perkins might return. On Sunday, Perkins and Jackson were spotted at construction site on Rocky Point Road not far from the residence of the initial dispute.

Deputies arrived just before 11 a.m., and after they got out of their patrol cars, Perkins ran for a backhoe, which he drove away, said Deputy Fibencio Medina, who returned to his car and pursued.

“I knew we had to get him stopped because the charges against him were serious,” Medina said, noting the very rural area.

The deputy said the backhoe was speeding along the gravel road and weaving “to stir up as much dust as he could.”

“What most concerned me was he might spin it around and come at me,” Medina said. “It would have been ugly for me.”

After a half-mile or so, Perkins drove the backhoe into a muddy area with the officer still in pursuit. The heavy machinery became stuck and the suspect fled on foot.

Manhunt begins

Clark said Montgomery County Sheriff’s K-9 units were called in, along with a Tennessee Highway Patrol helicopter to search for Perkins. Also, Erin Police Department officers assisted with 4-wheelers.

Just before dark, Clark said the resident from the dispute with Perkins and Jackson, called to say Perkins had returned and asked for help.

“He came out armed and told him (Perkins) he needed to get on up the road,” Sheriff Kevin Sugg said of the resident’s reaction.

Authorities called off their search around 1:30 a.m. on Monday to resume it later in the morning.

Clark said Perkins was spotted around 8 a.m. at the Danville boat ramp, which is about three miles from where he ditched the backhoe. He and another deputy went to the area in an unmarked patrol vehicle and found him on Paradise Lane.

“We saw him on some steps of a house, shaking the door,” Clark said. “We jumped out and took him down at gunpoint. He was cooperative after that.”

Perkins told Clark he had gotten a ride to Danville in a boat after flagging down the operator and telling him he’d fallen off a cliff into the water to explain his cuts, scratches and bruises.

He also told the investigator he went into the water and held a piece of hollow log over his head to avoid Clark and other searchers on 4-wheelers.

Clark said Perkins admitted to breaking into a basement and taking a few items because he “was fighting just to survive.”

In the meantime, Jackson had been charged with accessory after the fact, for aiding Perkins in alluding Henry County authorities. His bond was set at $5,000

Henry County charges

Detective Jeremy Whitaker, of the Henry County Sheriff’s Office, said Perkins’ charges stemmed from a situation with his former girlfriend June 6-8.

“She went to get some of her belongings, and it went on from there,” Whitaker said. “He forced himself on her and would not let her leave. He ran over her (injuring her arm and both feet) and drug her for a short distance” with a vehicle.

He said she jumped out of the vehicle on the third day of the ordeal to get away from Perkins.

Clark said Henry County authorities characterized Perkins as armed and dangerous because they learned he’d bought a gun recently. He said no firearms were found, only a hunting knife that Perkins carried.

Mark Hicks can be reached at 931-212-7626 or on Twitter: @markhicksleaf.