One of two escaped Kootenai County inmates captured in Olympia

One of two Kootenai County inmates who escaped from the Yakima County Correctional Center on Tuesday has been captured.

Chad E. Tipton was arrested around 11:30 p.m. Friday in Olympia by the Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force, the Olympia Police Department and the Washington State Patrol.

Tipton and another inmate, Steven D. Roche, were discovered missing during a bed check at 4 a.m. Tuesday. An investigation turned up an unsecured door leading from an inside recreational yard to the outside as well as an open internal gate. Tipton and Roche were among 37 Kootenai County inmates being held in Yakima because of overcrowding at the Kootenai County Jail.

Tipton was being held on charges of assault with a firemar, aggravated battery, unlawful possession of a firearm and resisting arrest. He was suspected of shooting a man in the 1800 block of East Jenny Lynn Lane on Dec. 15 and was arrested on Dec. 22 after leading police on a chase through Post Falls.

The search is still on for Roche, who was being held on burglary and grand theft charges. His last known address was in Spokane. Anyone with information on his location is asked to call 911.