NEW MARKET, Tenn. — UPDATE (5:15 p.m.): The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said Mekiah Davis was arrested around 5 p.m. in Sevier County.
They commended the Sevier County Sheriff's Office, the U.S. Marshall Fugitive Task Force, and the 4th Judicial Drug Task Force.
Additional information about his arrest was not immediately available.
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The East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers said Thursday they were asking for help finding teen fugitive Mekiah Davis. They said he should be considered dangerous if spotted.
Officials said he left a Dandridge juvenile center on Jan. 20 and within 48 hours had cut off his ankle monitor and was involved in a police chase resulting in a crash in Hamblen County. He'd been arrested by the Tennessee Highway Patrol and later paid his bond for release.
He previously pleaded guilty in Knox County Juvenile Court to killing a pastor and his wife in September 2019 when he was 15 years old. Davis at the time was driving a stolen pickup truck and crashed into them in the Mascot area, according to reports. The state was only able to hold him in custody until his 19th birthday since he was a minor at the time of that incident.
WBIR investigated numerous problems at the detention center, Mountain View, including young inmates smoking cigarettes, marijuana, looking at pornography, and routinely warning guards who tried to control them that they'd better stay away. Police were called to the center repeatedly in recent years for riots, assaults, vandalism, and escape attempts.
At that time, Mountain View was run by a different operator than TruCore, which began operations in early 2020.
ETVCS said that less than 48 hours after Davis' release he had a car, a large amount of cash, drugs, and a weapon. He is facing 14 charges in Hamblen County including reckless endangerment and illegally having a weapon.
He previously pleaded guilty to killing a pastor and his wife when he was 15 years old. Davis was driving a stolen pickup truck in September 2019 and crashed into them, according to reports. The state was only able to hold him in custody until his 19th birthday since he was a minor at the time of that incident.
He is 18 years old now, according to court records.
ETVCS said Davis would be in the New Market area, but also said he has connections in Knoxville including a girlfriend and an ex-girlfriend.
Anyone with information about his location can reach out to ETVCS online, or by calling them at 865-215-7165. Anyone who gives information can stay anonymous, and if that information leads to an arrest, they may be eligible for a cash reward.