‘It was a morning to remember’: Residents recall Austin Drummond’s arrest
JACKSON, Tenn. — After a week-long search, Tennessee’s most wanted fugitive, Austin Drummond, is now in custody.
The manhunt for 28-year-old Austin Drummond has successfully come to an end. Earlier Tuesday morning, Mayor Scott Conger announced in a regularly scheduled city council meeting that Drummond has now been placed in custody.
This arrest was made at 15 Windwood Hills not far from Monday’s search party in a wooded area off of Pleasant Plains Road.
We spoke with one landscaper who was working in the area.
“I was over in Windwood Hills yesterday, which is right behind this neighborhood, and there was just a lot of helicopters flying around. They had a couple people text me that I work for. They knew I was over in that neighborhood yesterday, so they alerted me and let me know what was going on, so I was kind of cautious yesterday,” said Mark Crow, landscaper.
Residents across Jackson have been on high alert since finding out a murder suspect was in the area. They have been encouraged to call 9-1-1 or the TBI hotline if they spot anything suspicious. And one local did.
“I walked back to the greenhouse, and the greenhouse backdoor was open, and I don’t leave it open. I looked down to the left; I was just kind of viewing the area, and here, I see a man in black just walking down through the middle of the ravine,” said John, a local resident. “It was a morning to remember. Choppers were here about five minutes after I called in, and the police was in the driveway probably 10 minutes later, and they had him.”
John also says that Drummond didn’t put up a fight.
“The cops even said there was no fight, there was no hassle. They were back there looking for his guns and stuff and a bag, but they never found anything,” said John.
Crow recalls the moment a heavy police presence responded to another caller who spotted Drummond on High Point Road.
“One of the police officers–unmarked vehicle–said they were going to lockdown this area for a while, and told me to get in the house, so that’s what I did,” said Crow.
While the week-long search for Drummond has concluded, residents share their relief that he is now in custody.
“I heard that they had caught the fella, so I was at ease then, but up until then, I was pretty cautious, you know, I was looking behind me all day yesterday,” said Crow.
Drummond now faces 4 counts of first-degree murder, 1 count of aggravated kidnapping, several weapons charges.
According to Mobile Patrol, Drummond has been booked into the Obion County Jail.
He’s expected to be arraigned in Tiptonville later this week.
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