Amy Rackley, 38, is charged with facilitation of escape.
Brian Cleckler, 37, is charged with escaping from police.A 37-year-old felon who ran from East Ridge police with one handcuff on in June escaped with the help of a 38-year-old Coffee County, Tenn., woman who gave him a ride, according to police.
Amy Rackley was arrested Tuesday and charged with facilitating an escape. The felon, Brian Cleckler, was on the loose for a month before investigators found him hiding in a cabin in Marion County.
The initial incident began as a traffic stop for illegally tinted windows at 6513 Ringgold Road on June 30, according to court records. The officer discovered that the driver, Cleckler, was a convicted felon and also had ammunition and methamphetamine in the vehicle.
But as the officer took Cleckler into custody, the man fought back, pulled away and ran into a patch of woods along Interstate 75 southbound.
East Ridge police, Chattanooga police and K-9 units combed the area but could not find Cleckler. Investigators later learned that was because he'd been given a ride by Rackley, according to court records.
She was booked into the Hamilton County Jail on a $5,000 bond and since has been released.
Federal agents and deputies from both the Coffee County and Grundy County sheriffs' offices found Cleckler on July 29, hiding in a cabin near Johnny Stiefel Road. Cleckler was armed with a 9 mm handgun and threatened to kill himself, prompting an hour-long standoff, according to WRCB-TV.
Authorities eventually convinced him to surrender and he was arrested on 10 charges, including escape, possession of methamphetamine, resisting arrest and evading arrest. He remains in custody in the Hamilton County Jail and is scheduled to appear Oct. 21 in Hamilton County Criminal Court.
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