A man serving time in the Missouri Department of Corrections for a number of crimes in Ozark County has escaped from his work detail in central Missouri. Forty-four-year-old Jason Laird of Gainesville escaped Tuesday afternoon while working at the state fairgrounds in Sedalia. The Sedalia Police Department says Laird was last seen wearing a white t-shirt, gray pants and black boots.
The Ozark County Sheriff’s Office says shortly before 6 Wednesday morning, police in Sedalia were notified a Missouri Department of Transportation maintenance shed near Gate 11 on the Fairgrounds had been broken into and a state truck was stolen. Surveillance video at the shed indicated the vehicle was stolen around 11:30pm.
The vehicle is a white 2013 Chevrolet Silverado Duramax 2500 bearing MO state plate 11-0189M. The vehicle has chrome running boards.
Given the timing of the theft and Laird’s disappearance, authorities believe Laird stole the vehicle.
The Ozark County S.O. says in past dealings between Laird and the Ozark County Sheriff’s Office, Laird has been known to alter the appearance vehicles he has stolen by spray painting them.
Laird is a white male, 5 foot three inches tall, weigh160 pounds and has blue eyes.
Anyone with information about Laird’s whereabouts is asked to call 911 and not to approach him.
Laird was sentenced to seven-years in prison in the Missouri Department of Corrections last May in connection with 15 charges over six cases. Laird pleaded guilty to four counts of burglary, three counts of stealing firearms, tampering with a motor vehicle, stealing a motor vehicle and two counts of stealing $750 or more. The 15 charges involve six different burglaries on different occasions.
Laird also attempted to escape from the Ozark County Jail in April last year and was later transferred to the Douglas County Jail in Ava.
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