Ricky Lavelle Smith

The Botetourt County Sheriff’s Office has released this statement — and mug shot — on the incident earlier today where a man unwilling to take a drug test escaped from the courthouse and was captured nearby:

A 32-year-old Roanoke man who was facing bond revocation Thursday morning after failing a drug test fled through a Botetourt County Court House window but was apprehended 68 minutes later in a creek bed an estimated 600 yards away.

Botetourt County Sheriff Ronnie Sprinkle identified him as Ricky Lavelle Smith and described him as having been at liberty on bond pending trial on charges of driving on a suspended license and possessing illicit substances.

Fourteen Botetourt officers, four Virginia State Police troopers, and two Botetourt canine teams participated in the brief hunt leading to the arrest of Smith shortly before 1 o’clock near the Fincastle Fire House, Sprinkle said.

The sheriff reported that Smith, who was not under arrest or in custody when he appeared for a court hearing, escaped from an unsecure area where he had been taken from the court room for the purpose of a repeat drug test.

Smith is being held in the Botetourt County jail without bond.with no trial date set for either the original or additional pending charges.

The Roanoke Times has more on this story.