Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 19, 1990 TAG: 9004190757
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B5 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
They said the 25-year-old airman from Iowa was rearrested about 9:30 a.m. after a wild car chase in which police cars were rammed and motorists chased from busy Interstate 10.
Airman James Nicholas Coppock was taken to Hancock General Medical Center for minor injures suffered in the series of crashes, Mississippi Highway Patrol spokesman Joe Gazzo said.
"He later was released to Keesler Air Force Base officials in Biloxi," Gazzo said.
Gazzo said the man now also faces state charges that include four counts of aggravated assault on a police officer and numerous traffic violations.
Coppock had escaped about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Leitz said. He declined comment on exactly how Coppock escaped.
Coppock, who deserted his post in Spain, and 12-year-old Stephanie Lee Griffith, whose military family also was stationed in Spain, allegedly kidnapped 4-year-old Brittany Lynn Collins from a day-care center on the Navy Seabee Base in Gulfport on March 8. The baby was later abandoned in Williamsburg, Va.
Brittany's mother, Angela Collins of Biloxi, left town after being notified of Coppock's escape by Keesler authorities.
"Look, this guy knows where we live. I've got to try to get my family out of here," said Collins, who is stationed at the Seabee Base in Gulfport.
Coppock and Griffith had prompted a manhunt that led across much of the eastern United States. They were eventually caught in McEwen, Tenn., on March 23.
On March 14, Brittany was found unharmed in a hotel in Williamsburg. Her abductors had left a note asking that she be returned home and included the girl's mother's name and her home address.
Griffith has been in a Mississippi youth detention center since her capture.
by CNB