The manhunt for an inmate who escaped from the Brinkley Police Department is over. Arkansas State Police troopers captured fugitive Rodney Smith, 41, Friday afternoon in Lee County.
Members of the Arkansas State Police Emergency Response Team located Smith at 12:36 p.m. Friday, October 30, 2026. He was taken into custody without incident.
Found at a Lee County Farm Shop
Smith was a passenger in a vehicle found at a farm shop on Lee County Road 310. Smith and the driver, Marshall Jones, were both taken into custody and questioned at the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
They were then transported to the Arkansas Division of Correction East Arkansas Regional Unit in Brickeys.
Escaped Thursday Morning
Smith escaped from the Brinkley Police Department detention center Thursday morning, October 29. Police say he assaulted law enforcement personnel and took an officer’s Taser before fleeing on foot. The escape prompted a lockdown of Brinkley Public Schools as a precaution.
Smith was being held while awaiting bed space with the Arkansas Division of Correction. His arrest history includes aggravated robbery and domestic battery.
A Team Effort
Arkansas State Police say the search and capture was a joint effort by:
- ASP Emergency Response Team
- ASP Criminal Investigation Division
- ASP Troop D Highway Patrol
- Brinkley Police Department
- U.S. Marshals Service
- Arkansas Community Correction Division
- ASP Aircraft Section
- Arkansas Game and Fish
- Arkansas Department of Correction K-9 and Drone Teams
Read our earlier coverage: Manhunt Underway in Brinkley After Rodney Jermaine Smith Escapes Police Jail
SOURCE: Arkansas State Police
HAVE INFORMATION YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE? Share your community news, announcements, sports results, and upcoming events with the ArkansasRadio.com family of radio stations. Submit your event at
To report a typo, please email newsarkansasradio@gmail.com
Leave a Reply