A man who last summer attempted to a hold a talent show on behalf of a non-existent record company has been arrested by local law enforcement after escaping a Mississippi Department of Corrections facility where he was being held on multiple charges.
An agent with the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics spotted Justin Lee, 29, on Highway 45 North Wednesday. Lee had escaped earlier that day from Greenwood Work Center in Leflore County, where he was being held on charges of simple assault on a police officer and two counts of false pretense, according to MDOC records.
The MBN agent contacted officers with Lowndes County’s combined Drug Task Force, said Captain Archie Williams, who oversees the task force. Williams said agents on the force, along with officers from Columbus Police Department and Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, responded to the scene and took Lee into custody.
Lee attempted to hold a talent show in late July on behalf of a non-existent record company called “Gemini Records,” which he said was headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. More than 100 people from the Golden Triangle paid $15 each to participate in the show, with the hopes of winning one of two promised recording contracts with the record company. The talent show, which was expected to be held at the Columbus Fairgrounds, never took place.
CPD also had an active warrant out on Lee for false pretense after Lee wrote a $13,345 check from a nonexistent bank account and used it at a local car dealership in September.
Lee is expected to be charged for the escape and will be turned over to MDOC custody today.
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