Killer Back In Custody After Escape Fugitive’s 10 Days On Lam End With Clerk’s Phone Call

Confessed killer Jerry Cloward was back in custody in Custer County after eluding authorities for 10 days.

Cloward, 46, was awaiting sentencing on June 18 for the February shooting of Bob Jackson at Jackson’s Mackay home when he managed to slip through the fence at the jail’s exercise yard on May 29.

Authorities said he apparently holed up in a remote draw near Clayton until he stole a car near Sunbeam and headed for Boise.

Sheriff Al Finley said a convenience store clerk in Stanley recognized Cloward and contacted authorities. He was arrested without incident last Friday night on the back-country road to Atlanta in Boise County.

“If Cloward had gone to the mountains, they never would have found him,” said Kate Elliott, Cloward’s friend and the Challis dogcatcher. “I would have helped him if I had known where he was, and so would a lot of other people.”

Prosecutor Michael Lee said the escape could add five years to his sentence for voluntary manslaughter, which could be up to 15 years in prison.

Authorities believe Cloward had outside help in the escape.

Not all those who know Cloward agreed with Elliott. Many think that having shot and killed one person would make it easier for Cloward to kill again.

Cloward admitted killing Jackson, 69, during what authorities said was an argument that occurred while both men had been drinking.