Indiana Sheriff says escaped inmate Casey White planned 'shootout' with law enforcement

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (TCD) -- The Vanderburgh County Sheriff shared new details Tuesday regarding the capture of a fugitive inmate from Alabama and the corrections official accompanying him who died.

At a press conference, Sheriff Dave Wedding revealed the inmate, Casey White, and the Lauderdale County assistant director of corrections Vicky White had been in Evansville for almost a week before they were caught. The Whites (no relation) reportedly paid in advance for a 14-day stay at a motel about a mile from where they were apprehended.

Wedding said an Evansville Police Department officer was patrolling the area when he saw a vehicle in the motel’s parking lot believed to be linked to Casey and Vicky White. Members of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force set up surveillance on the motel, and the two fugitives escaped "soon thereafter."

Both Whites fled in a black Cadillac sedan and got onto Highway 41 before driving through a parking lot and onto a grass field. The U.S. Marshals followed and "basically rammed the vehicle and pushed it into a ditch."

The ditch helped prevent what could have led to injured or dead law enforcement officials, according to Wedding. Casey White reportedly told Wedding and other officials after his arrest that he was "going to engage in a shootout," but crashing into the ditch prevented that from happening. As the pursuit came to an end, Vicky White shot herself and "suffered a grave injury."

She died at a local hospital Monday night.

Investigators retrieved several firearms from the vehicle, including handguns, semiautomatics, and an AR-15 rifle in the car.

"Any one of these weapons could’ve been used to ambush our officers while they were attempting to catch a murder suspect," Wedding said.

The Sheriff added, "He said he was going to have a shootout at the stake of them both losing their lives."

At the motel, officials located "multiple wigs."

Casey White and Vicky White initially drove a Ford F-150 pickup truck that Casey reportedly bought in Tennessee. WHNT-TV reports a car wash manager reportedly spotted the truck at his business and noted it hadn’t moved for quite some time, so he called police and had it towed.

Wedding said both Whites stayed in Evansville for so long because they were "trying to find a place to hide out and lay low."

He does not believe either Casey White or Vicky White has any friends or relatives in the Evansville or Vanderburgh County area.

U.S. Marshal Matt Keely told CNN that upon Casey’s arrest, he said, "Y’all help my wife. She shot herself in the head and I didn’t do it."

Wedding said he does not believe Casey and Vicky are married, despite sharing the same last name. Wedding said preliminary investigation evidence shows Casey did not shoot Vicky.

Prior to Casey and Vicky’s escape, Vicky reportedly sold her home and lived with her mother for a few weeks. Wedding believes she used the money from the sale to pay for the cars and other parts of their plan.

Casey White signed an extradition waiver and will be transported back to Alabama. An autopsy for Vicky White is scheduled for Tuesday.

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