By Matt Wiley
A high-speed chase laced with gunfire, a bank robbery, a nationwide manhunt and now a foiled jailbreak. It all sounds like something out of an action movie, but this is real life for the Doughtery siblings.
The most recent development in the case comes days after Dylan, 26, was discovered to be planning an escape from his Walsenburg, Colorado jail cell, where he and his siblings Lee Grace, 29, and Ryan, 22, have been held since August 10. Dylan has since been transferred from Huerfano County Jail to Pueblo County Jail, about 45 miles to the north.
On January 31, a Colorado district court once again postponed a plea hearing for the two brothers. This is the second postponement of a plea hearing since the initial postponement on November 28, while the court awaited the results of a DNA test. The brothers are scheduled to reappear in court on Feb. 16.
Lee Grace is still on schedule to go to trial Feb. 21 on charges of attempted second-degree murder and assault, among others. Her brothers are charged with five counts each of attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, vehicle theft, theft by receiving and displaying fictitious or altered license plates.
The Associated Press (AP) reports that during a search of Dylan’s cell on January 10, deputies found a letter to the FBI stating that he had “enjoyed his stay” and another in his sister’s cell telling her how he planned to escape and that she he would drop through the ceiling to break her out as well. Dylan will now also be charged with conspiracy to escape and possession of contraband.
The siblings began their multi-state crime spree last August in Zephyrhills, just east of Wesley Chapel, when Zephyrhills Police Department (ZPD) Officer Kevin Widener pursued the trio for speeding. A passenger in the white Subaru sedan began firing shots at Ofc. Widener’s vehicle, striking his front-left tire.
After escaping Widener, the trio continued north and, according to the FBI, entered a bank in Valdosta and opened fire with an AK47 assault rifle, shooting at the ceiling, and stole an undisclosed amount of cash.
They fled first to Utah, where they are the main suspects in two carjackings, one unsuccessful, and then to Colorado, where their car was spotted at a sporting goods store in Colorado Springs. and then at a campground at the San Isabel National Forest.
A Colorado state trooper approached the vehicle at a nearby gas station, but the siblings escaped and led authorities on another gunfire-filled high-speed chase until driving over a spike strip and flipping their car.
According to the police report, Lee Grace tried to escape on foot with a pistol in her hand. Authorities shot her in leg after she pointed her gun at Walsenburg Police officers, who then arrested her and her two brother,s who gave themselves up after the crash.
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