Cass Co. Man Runs Off After Pike Co. Court Appearance, Found Blocks Away Hiding Under a Porch

By Benjamin Cox on August 29, 2022 at 1:34pm

Pike County Sheriff’s Deputies had to re-capture a man who got loose from custody on Tuesday after he was being transferred between the Pike County Jail and the Courthouse.

Pike County Sheriff David Greenwood says in a press release that on Tuesday morning, 51 year old Christopher A. Africh of Beardstown was ordered in custody in lieu of $6,000 bond during a court appearance at the Pike County Courthouse in Pittsfield.

Greenwood says while Africh was being escorted across the street from the Courthouse to the Pike County Jail, Africh fled from an officer.

Africh was located by authorities approximately a half hour later hiding under a porch of a residence in the 200 block of West Jefferson Street.

Africh was escorted back to the Pike County Courthouse at 1PM where he was charged with felony escape. He remains held at the Pike County Jail in lieu of $200,000 bond.