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A Campbellsville man released from jail to undergo organ-donor testing has fled. As of Friday, the man has yet to be found.

Officials say the man is facing a life sentence on federal charges and should be considered armed and dangerous.

According to U.S. Deputy Marshal Chuck Gilbert, Byron Keith Perkins, 37, of 124 Dowell St. was scheduled to undergo medical testing Tuesday in Louisville to see if he would be able to donate a kidney to his son.

Gilbert says Perkins was released last Monday from the Oldham County Jail in LaGrange, Ky. at 8:30 a.m. but never showed up for the testing and hasn't been seen since.

According to a November press release from U.S. Attorney David L. Huber's office, Perkins faces life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty Nov. 18 in Bowling Green to federal charges of robbery, use of a firearm during the robbery and selling marijuana.

According to federal court records, Perkins was being housed in the Oldham County Jail awaiting a Feb. 23 sentencing on those charges.

However, according to a temporary release order signed Jan. 13 by U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge James D. Moyer, Perkins was temporarily released from jail and placed on a $10,000 unsecured bond.

As terms of Perkins' release, the order states, he was not to possess any firearms, destructive devices or dangerous weapons. He was also ordered not to drink alcohol or use any narcotic drugs or other controlled substances, unless prescribed by a licensed medical practitioner.

He was restricted to traveling between Campbellsville and Louisville for the sole purpose of medical testing. Perkins was supposed to live with his mother in Campbellsville at all times during his release and be confined to her home, except while being tested.

Any violations of these orders, court records state, would result in immediate arrest by a United States Marshal.

Perkins was first released Sunday, Jan. 15 to travel to Campbellsville to stay with his mother until he was to be tested the following day. After the first round of tests, he returned to the Oldham County Jail.

Perkins was again scheduled to be released from Oldham County Jail in LaGrange, Ky. on Monday, Jan. 23, a court order states, to begin the second phase of medical testing. After those tests were complete, Perkins was to surrender himself to a U.S. Marshal no later than 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 24.

He did not show up for the tests nor did he return to jail as ordered.

Gilbert said the U.S. Marshal's office believes Perkins is traveling with a woman, Lee Ann Howard, also of Campbellsville. Gilbert says Howard also spells her name Leighann and has gone by the last name Spradlin.

Howard, Gilbert said, is wanted on first-degree robbery and persistent felony offender charges in Green County.

Gilbert said Perkins and Howard may be traveling in a 1994 bluish-green Crown Victoria, which belongs to Howard's mother. The car's license plate number is 784 BHS.

Perkins has family in the Campbellsville, Russell Springs and Columbia area, Gilbert said.
Marshals say the two are believed to be headed south, possibly to Mexico.
"We're looking for him," he said. "Any help would be greatly appreciated."

Gilbert said Perkins and Howard should both be considered armed and dangerous.

Howard, Gilbert said, is a 35-year-old white female. She is 5 feet, 7 inches tall and weighs 120 pounds.

Perkins, he said, has brown hair and brown eyes. He is 6 feet, 3 inches tall and weighs 220 pounds. Taylor Circuit Court records state Perkins has a tattoo on his left arm and also lists his address as 705 S. Jackson St. in Campbellsville.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Campbellsville Police Department at 465-4122, the Kentucky State Police at (800) 222-5555 or the U.S. Marshal's Louisville office at (502) 588-8000.

Any information given can remain anonymous, Gilbert said.

http://www.cknj.com/articles/2006/01/29/...nflees.txt