A man who Coweta County deputies say ran away from a hospital after he was rescued from a lake on a stolen kayak was arrested in Texas on Sunday, authorities confirmed.
John Charles Demore Jr., 23, faces multiple charges after allegedly stealing a truck, fleeing law enforcement via a kayak and escaping a hospital in 2017.
On Dec. 1, 2017, deputies saw a U-Haul truck in the parking lot of a Marathon gas station on Ga. 154, Coweta sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Mark Callahan confirmed to AJC.com. When a deputy tried to stop the truck, Demore refused to pull over, according to an incident report.
He then led deputies on a high-speed chase through Arbor Springs and nearly hit a parked car, Callahan said. A deputy stopped the chase by “taking the truck out before he hit a car head-on,” the incident report said.
Demore got out of the truck and ran away, Callahan said.
When deputies looked inside the truck, they found a backpack that contained 10 grams of methamphetamine, Callahan said. Authorities believe the backpack belonged to Demore.
A female passenger was arrested after investigators found several forged identification cards in her possession, Callahan said.
Coweta deputies searched the neighborhood for hours trying to find Demore, Callahan said. They finally found him after hearing a man holding on to a kayak calling for help in the middle of a lake.
Demore, who had floated about 200 feet out into the water, was pulled back to shore and taken to Piedmont Newnan Hospital to be treated for hypothermia, Callahan said. He had been in the water for nearly an hour, authorities said.
Three days into his hospital stint, someone picked him up in a car and Demore took off again, Callahan said.
Following his arrest in Texas, Demore was extradited to Coweta County and is in jail without bond, records show.
He is charged with obstruction of officers, giving false name to officers, theft by receiving, possession of narcotic substance, marijuana possession, fleeing/attempting to elude police officer, reckless driving and two counts of theft by taking.
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