Limestone County inmate runs from courthouse, caught on Athens roof

ATHENS, Ala. (WAFF) - Nathan Harville, an inmate ran who ran from the Limestone County Courthouse on Wednesday morning, was caught on a roof in downtown Athens. Harville was set to appear in court before he ran away from deputies in handcuffs.

Limestone County Sheriff Joshua McLaughlin was one of the many first responders who climbed onto the roof to capture Harville.

“I’m proud of my guys there,” he said, “They responded the way they were supposed to. They got eyes on him and secured him until somebody else could get up to him, and they did a very good job. I think that’s the first time I’ve had to go on top of a building to get somebody. We end up in pursuits regularly, but I’ve never had to do that before.”

McLaughlin said Harville took advantage of the deputies being outnumbered and took off.

“Your biggest risk is when you’re transporting someone in custody to a different location, especially when it’s an unsecured place,” he said. “We have that, it happens from occasion. We take the manpower we have available. When you’re moving 20, 30, 40 inmates at one time, there’s a risk there, unfortunately. One decided he was going to bolt today, but thankfully we were able to apprehend him pretty quickly.”

When Harville had nowhere to run, he was arrested on the rooftop. Athens firefighters escorted Harville, Mclaughlin, and everyone on the roof down to safety.

No one was injured during the escape. Mclaughlin said Harville will face an escape charge for his brief time away from deputies.

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