Search for work-release prisoner suspended

Published 6:55 pm Monday, February 11, 2019

The search for a Limestone County work-release prisoner who walked off his job Monday afternoon in Athens has been suspended.

Deputy Stephen Young, public information officer for the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office, told The News Courier Monday night the search for 25-year-old Joseph Lee Davis Jr. had been suspended but investigators are still following up on leads.

Law-enforcement officers from the Sheriff’s Office and Athens Police Department as well as tracking dogs from Limestone Correctional Facility (a state prison) and a Sheriff’s Office helicopter pilot spent Monday afternoon combing areas north of Athens after reports of possible sightings. The search began at 2:15 p.m. and ended before 6 p.m.

Davis was on work-release at CPI on Alabama 127, an Athens aluminum-castings manufacturer. He was last seen wearing a gray Reebok hoodie, jeans, a black hat with white inscription, and black tennis shoes, Young said.

On Oct. 31, 2017, Davis was sentenced to serve 10 years on two counts of third-degree burglary. He had prior third-degree burglary convictions in 2012 and 2013. He had served 1 year and nine months of his current sentence and was eligible for release as early as Feb. 15, 2020.

If you see Davis, call the Sheriff’s Office at 256-232-0111.