BY KEN LITTLE
STAFF WRITER
A woman who walked out of Greeneville Police Department headquarters Tuesday night in handcuffs after being taken into custody for allegedly driving a stolen car was picked up about 7:45 p.m. Wednesday following a traffic stop on Summer Street, police said.
Jessica Rachel Smith, 31, of 3775 Cherokee Road, Jonesborough, is charged with a variety of crimes connected to the alleged car theft, escape, and previous offenses, according to charges on file at the Greene County Sheriff's Department.
Smith is charged with a felony count of escape, theft of property valued at over $1,000, theft of property valued at under $500, criminal impersonation, three counts of identity theft and four counts of forgery.
She was being held on $47,000 bond in the Greene County Detention Center pending a first General Sessions Court appearance on Friday.
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
Smith was pulled over about 7:40 p.m. Tuesday on West Main Street at Asheville Highway driving a 2012 Chrysler 200 sedan reported stolen earlier in the day from the Enterprise car rental outlet in Kingsport, Officer Eddie Key said in a report.
Smith, who initially gave officers a false name, birthdate and address, was detained and taken to police headquarters.
While Key was taking a statement from a witness, Smith was held in "a secure area behind locked doors" but apparently was able to walk out of the police department at 200 North College St. after "one of the locked doors came open unknowingly," a report said.
Smith still was wearing handcuffs but apparently was able to shed them soon after leaving the building, police said.
She walked to an address in the 300 block of East Church Street and asked for a ride to Warrensburg Road.
A man living there told police he gave Smith a ride not to the Warrensburg Road but to the YMCA in Greeneville.
While at the YMCA, Smith called a woman who lives in the 5300 block of Warrensburg Road, a report said. The woman drove to the YMCA, picked Smith up and took her to her house.
Smith asked to use the woman's green 1999 Ford Taurus and "was last seen driving on Gap Creek Road at a high rate of speed," a report said.
The 49-year-old owner of the car reported it stolen about 10 p.m. Tuesday, sheriff's Deputy Brandon Ricker said in a report.
PASSENGER IN CAR
Smith was a passenger in another car pulled over about 7:45 p.m. Wednesday on Summer Street, Greeneville police said.
Smith also goes by several aliases, including the name of a woman who lives on Warrensburg Road, according to reports.
In May, she used driver licenses belonging to several other women to cash checks for amounts ranging from $150 to $200 at three Greeneville banks, from accounts she did not have permission to use, reports said.
The officer's Smith & Wesson handcuffs, valued at $50, were not recovered, a report said.








