Community reacts to capture of escaped prisoner

LAUDERDALE COUNTY, Tenn. — Residents in Lauderdale County say they can rest a little easier after Curtis Ray Watson’s arrest Sunday morning.

“I think it’s great for the community,” said Craig Fitzhugh, a resident of Lauderdale County. “I think that when you have somebody like that that has committed a crime out in the community, it’s a scary thing for that community.”

Watson was taken into custody five days after the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says he escaped from West Tennessee State Penitentiary. A resident in a neighborhood near the prison first noticed Watson raiding an outdoor refrigerator on surveillance camera early Sunday morning.

“I thank the police officers for doing a wonderful job tracking this guy down,” resident Franklin Sanders said.

Residents say they took extra precautions after learning that Watson was on the loose by double checking that doors were locked and watching out for their neighbors.

“I think it was handled professionally and in really short order they kept him close to, he didn’t stray far and they caught him without incident,” Fitzhugh said.

“The whole community is relieved that we are through this and we are glad that our law enforcement was able to get back into a normal routine, and everybody is very thankful for the things that they did during this time,” resident Regina Hines said.

“We are glad it’s over,” Fitzhugh said. “We are sighed with a bit of relief right now, but we also know that there has got to be a lot of healing right now with the correction community and with our community because of the death and the fact that people were pretty much scared.”

Watson’s arraignment is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.