Jasper inmate escapes from courthouse after bond hearing, county’s 2nd getaway this month
Authorities in Jasper County are searching for 23-year-old Jashaun Heyward, who escaped from the county courthouse Thursday afternoon after a bond hearing for assault and firearms charges. He’s the second suspect to escape law enforcement custody in Jasper County in less than a month, following the disappearance of a convicted sex offender from the understaffed detention center about three weeks prior.
Heyward was last seen wearing a black and gray shirt with white and black Nike shoes and his hands cuffed in front of him, according to the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office. He was at the courthouse for a motion to revoke his bond over charges of pointing and presenting firearms at a person and second-degree assault and battery.
Sheriff’s deputies were combing the areas surrounding the Jasper County Courthouse, which is located at 265 Russell Street in Ridgeland. Search teams utilized K-9 tracking units and helicopters, the latter of which was forced to withdraw due to thunderstorms Thursday evening.
Public records show three local addresses belonging to Heyward: 1178 Fordville Road and 740 Henry Lawton Road in Ridgeland, as well as 708 Moorer Avenue in Hardeeville.
The escape happened at 2:08 p.m. as Jasper County deputies led Heyward out of a side door and toward a van parked at the rear of the courthouse, which takes inmates to and from the Jasper County Detention Center. He slipped away from the officers’ grasp and fled the area, according to Christian Felt, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office.
Personnel from the detention center typically handle the transportation of inmates to the courthouse, Felt said, but sheriff’s office deputies were overseeing his custody on Thursday due to understaffing at the county jail.
Judicial records show Heyward’s bond was revoked by Circuit Court Judge Carmen Mullen around 10:00 a.m. Thursday, meaning he was ordered to remain at the county jail until his trial was held.
Bloodhounds and ground teams had resumed the search for Heyward on Friday morning, although police would not disclose the specific areas in which police were present. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division was assisting in the manhunt.
The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office would not release details on Heyward’s pending assault and firearms offenses, which come from his arrest on Jan. 7. In December 2019, Heyward was charged with attempted murder and various gun-related felonies after he allegedly opened fire on a home and two occupied vehicles in Ridgeland, according to reporting from Bluffton Today.
Thursday afternoon’s getaway comes less than a month after Jaquan Duvall Barnes escaped from the Jasper County Detention Center around June 10, resulting in another ongoing search operation that was quickly taken over by SLED. The convicted sex offender was in jail on charges of child sex trafficking following his arrest in early March.
To report sightings or other information about Heyward’s whereabouts, call 911 or the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office at 843-726-7777.
This report will be updated as more information becomes available.
