CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — A joint operation led to the capture of the man who leaped from a police van Thursday in Harrison County.
Law enforcement from Bridgeport Police, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, DNR, and West Virginia State Police apprehended James Preston Riley, 39, at a natural gas well site on Lodgeville Road in Bridgeport.
Riley was arrested in connection with a burglary Thursday in Monongalia County, but escaped from police custody late Thursday night by jumping out of a transport van. The alleged burglary was at a residence on Wagner Road in Monongalia County.
According to dispatch, James Preston Riley, 39, escaped the transport van as it was exiting I-79 at the 119 interchange.
Riley initially ran into the woods upon escaping police pursuit. Dispatchers said his possible starting point could have been in either the Clarksburg or Summit Park areas of Harrison County.
Police were using a helicopter to search for him at one point, but that was called off for the night.
Riley is receiving treatment at United Hospital Center for injuries suffered when he jumped out of the van.