Shannon Renee Leffew
Kayla Marie Beck
The Anderson County Sheriff's Office is reporting the suspect wanted in connection with a Craigslist scam has been killed in a car crash.
Shannon Renee Leffew of Powell, 37, was killed on I-75 in Whitley County. Kentucky State Police are investigating the crash.
Records from the Cocke County Sheriff's Department say Leffew escaped from jail on Tuesday evening and left behind her 3-year-old when she fled.
Leffew was arrested along with two others in a Cosby hotel in Cocke County on suspicion of scamming people over a rental home in Anderson County. According to an incident report, Leffew's 3-year-old son was transported from the hotel to the Cocke County Jail.
Kayla Marie Beck, 25, of Clinton and Leffew's 17-year-old son are behind bars. Shannon Leffew escaped custody on foot leaving the 3-year-old behind.
She was facing escape charges in addition to charges associated with the Craigslist scam.
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Two people are behind bars and another is on the run for scamming people on the website Craigslist.
According to the Anderson County Sheriff's Office, more than a dozen people were victims of the scam, which involved a rental home on West Wolf Valley Road in Claxton. Each of the victims responded to an ad to rent the house and paid a deposit for it. However, the suspects did not actually own the home, and the victims learned of the scam when they attempted to move into the home.
Investigators identified the suspects: Kayla Marie Beck, 25, of Clinton; Shannon Renee Leffew, 37, of Clinton; and Leffew's 17-year-old son.
Beck and the teenager were arrested Tuesday by the Cocke County Sheriff's Department in Cosby. Beck was charged with Criminal Conspiracy and Filing False Reports. She is being held in the Cocke County jail until she can be transported to the Anderson County Detention Facility. The teen is being held at the juvenile detention facility in Knox County.
Leffew escaped from Cocke County deputies on foot. Her last
known address was on Coconut Lane in a Claxton mobile home park. However, she has relatives in Cocke County and is believed to be in the Newport area.
When located, Leffew will be charged with twelve counts of Aggravated Burglary, seven counts of Misdemeanor Theft, five counts of Felony Theft, and one count of Criminal Conspiracy.