Police file search warrant for bank records of Lynchburg jail escapee

Investigators looking for escaped inmate Larry Wayne Dodson Jr. have filed a search warrant seeking account records at a Madison Heights bank.

The warrant’s affidavit states that Dodson’s mother, Sheila McSwain, told a confidential source that her husband, Bill McSwain, “was going to attempt to assist Larry Wayne Dodson Jr. in leaving the country in order that Dodson may evade capture.”

Dodson escaped from a Lynchburg jail two weeks ago.

According to the affidavit, the warrant was filed after investigators obtained a court order for the phone records of Dodson’s parents.

The phone records show a call placed on March 15 at 8:47 a.m. to Woodforest National Bank’s toll-free number, the affidavit states. The bank has a branch location at the Madison Heights Wal-Mart.

The search warrant said police were looking for signature cards and bank statements that include deposits and withdrawals for a specific bank account from March 5-19; the warrant’s inventory shows that police seized four pages of bank records.

The warrant was filed in the Amherst County Circuit Court clerk’s office on March 20.

Dodson Jr., 20, escaped from the Blue Ridge Regional Jail on March 10 by creating a rope from bed sheets and descending more than 100 feet down the side of the jail.

The U.S. Marshals Service is heading the investigation to find Dodson and return him to Virginia, said Elton Blackstock, administrator of the Blue Ridge Regional Jail.

“It’s still an ongoing investigation,” Blackstock said. “The marshal’s service is actively pursuing him.”

Dodson’s escape led to a review of jail procedures and the installation of additional physical barriers in the outdoor exercise yards, said Blackstock.

He has also inspected the structures of all five jails run by the authorities and is analyzing what measures should be taken to prevent an incident like this from happening at another jail.

“We have been working to beef up security in the exercise areas,” Blackstock said.

Monday, a federal charge was filed against Dodson charging him with leaving the Western District of Virginia and traveling in interstate commerce in order to avoid prosecution.

“This young man, he’s racking on these additional charges,” Blackstock said. “If he’s convicted, he’s looking at a lot of time.”

Last week, authorities said they found a car in rural Bertie County, North Carolina that had been reported stolen from Lynchburg on March 12, two days after Dodson’s escape. Investigators believe he used it to flee Virginia. A separate affidavit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Charlottesville, states Dodson’s mother lives in nearby Chowan County, about 20 miles away from where the car was found.

After escaping once before from authorities in Pittsylvania County, he had been transferred to the jail here while awaiting transfer to a Virginia Department of Corrections facility to serve more than seven years in prison.

The U.S. Marshal’s Service is offering a reward for information leading to Dodson’s capture and arrest. Anyone with information is asked to call Deputy U.S. Marshal Jason Bryant at (434) 293-8692, ext. 24 or the 24-hour hotline at (877) WANTED2.

- Staff reporter Chris Dumond contributed to this report.