A Georgia fugitive who is a suspect in the May 4 theft of a van on Sand Hill Road in Elbert County was arrested in Mississippi Sunday morning after staying on the run for about a month, according to Madison County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Jimmy Patton.
Roy Dwayne Ruis, 26, was arrested on numerous felony charges after a 12-hour manhunt in Coffeeville, Mississippi over the weekend.
“He was originally charged in Madison County and served a prison sentence,” said Patton. “They picked him up on a parole violation (April 22) and he got away and stole a police car and took a gun from the car.”
Chasing Ruis in Jacksonville, Florida, the U.S. Marshals Service got involved and eventually tracked Ruis to Madison County, where the sheriff’s department became involved.
Patton said Ruis would likely be charged with the theft of the van in Elbert County.
Yalobusha County, Mississippi authorities said Ruis was staying with his sister for about a week when authorities there believe he stole a vehicle Saturday morning.
Ruis, considered armed and dangerous, had 19 criminal warrants on him from the incident in which he stole the police vehicle in Georgia. The Georgia State Parole Board had a warrant for his arrest, and, among other charges, he was wanted on an arson charge, according to Yalobusha County Sheriff Lance Humphreys.
According to Humprheys, the Coffeeville Police Department, Panola (Mississippi) County Sheriff’s Department, U.S. Marshals Service, Oxford (Mississippi Police Department, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Mississippi Department of Corrections K-9 teams, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, Mississippi Bureau of Investigation an Mississippi Highway Patrol were involved in the manhunt Saturday and Sunday morning.