Escaped Inmate Captured in Upson County
- mlb19538
- 3 days ago
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SPALDING COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
SHERIFF DARRELL DIX
401 Justice Boulevard
Griffin, GA 30224
October 16, 2025
On October 15, 2025, at 3:15pm, it was discovered that a Spalding County Sheriff’s Office inmate worker had walked away from an assigned on-facility work detail. The inmate, identified as Justin Scott Woodruff W/M, 39 years of age, was in custody for Violation of Probation.
As the search for Woodruff progressed, locations in Butts, Upson, Lamar, and Monroe Counties came into play. Each of those agencies responded to those addresses where they searched, gathered information, and forwarded it to our Investigators. This resulted in Monroe County Deputies and Investigators locating Woodruff’s wife,
W/F 35, and she was taken into custody. After being questioned, she admitted that she had picked up Woodruff and carried him to a residence in Yatesville.
Upson County S.O. teamed with Spalding County Special Operations, Fugitive Apprehension, Investigators, and STING Units, and went to the residence on Logtown Road in Yatesville. According to the unwitting residents, Woodruff had been there, but left on foot shortly before units arrived.
A multi-agency search of the area was conducted that included K-9’s from the Georgia Department of Corrections that lasted several hours, but ended without success.
Sheriff Darrell Dix, “Based on information they gathered, it was highly likely that at some point Woodruff would return to the residence if he felt that the search had ended. Everyone involved in the search left the area, but staged out of sight nearby while others remained hidden inside the residence.”
“At about 9:20pm there was a knock on the door, and it was Woodruff. When the Deputies inside opened the door and confronted him, he tried to run but was taken into custody after a brief struggle in the front yard.”
“Woodruff was transported back to the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office where he is currently being held in solitary confinement. He is being charged with felony escape, criminal damage to government property, theft by taking, obstruction of officers, and anything else we can think of to lawfully charge him with. Jessica Woodruff is currently being housed in the Spalding County jail. She is being charged with aiding in an escape, and faces other charges as the investigation and interviews continue.
“I want to thank Sheriff Dan Kilgore and the Upson County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Brad Freeman and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Gary Long and the Butts County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Brad White and the Lamar County Sheriff’s Office, and the Georgia Department of Corrections K-9 Unit, who worked in conjunction with us during this search. Everyone that responded worked leads, checked locations, searched, gathered information, responded to tips, kept on the job, and went the extra mile until Woodruff was back in custody.”
“Like I said yesterday, when he was caught it would be a memorable experience for him, and it was. Whoever picked him up would have a memorable experience, and she did. His goal in escaping was to get back to his wife. Well, he is not exactly with her, but he is definitely closer to her than he was. She’s just right down a few hallways, through a few gates, past several cell blocks and housing units away from him. That’s as close as they’ll be for a long, long time.”