September 3, 2006, was the Sunday before Labor Day. When two county work release prisoners were late returning to the jail in Russellville, the scant staff wasn't too concerned. As the minutes dragged on, jailers began to realize that the convicts' absence involved more than tardiness.
Missing were Ronald Max Vernon of Tuscumbia and Christopher John Clark of Memphis, Tennessee (pictured above). Both inmates were serving in the county corrections program due to theft convictions and working at a local construction project. Authorities believed the 29 year-old Clark had possibly returned to his hometown of Memphis. Had he taken Vernon with him?
Then on Thursday, September 7th, a body was found in a soybean field on the side of Bates Landing Road just south of Phil Campbell. Forensics soon identified the deceased as the 54 year-old Vernon and theorized he had been strangled. Was Clark now a murderer, as well as a thief?
While the exact motive for Vernon's murder may never be known, investigators easily pieced together Clark's involvement. Fleeing Alabama, the escapee stole a late-model BMW in Littleville and drove toward Memphis. Once in his hometown, he went directly to a girlfriend's home.
On the Thursday that Vernon's body was found in Alabama, Clark broke into the home of a Memphis neighbor, Earl Millican. The victim reported that Clark pistol-whipped him before committing robbery. As he left the Millican home, Clark stated he was going to "take some cops with him" before going out in a "blaze of glory."
The manic Clark had just discarded his third stolen vehicle when Memphis police caught up with him on a city street. In a panic, the escaped felon carjacked a vehicle with the driver's mother still in the passenger seat. He then led authorities on a chase that covered several blocks and left damage at every turn. Finally cornered, Clark pointed a gun at one officer, but didn't fire. He then attempted to elude officers on foot, but was quickly captured.
Besides law enforcement and various onlookers observing Clark's attempt to flee with a kidnap victim in a stolen car, a local television crew videoed the chase from a helicopter. There would be no dearth of evidence against the Franklin County escapee originally convicted of stealing a Kubota tractor.
Christopher John Clark was officially charged in Tennessee with 12 felony counts, including interstate transportation of a stolen motor vehicle, being a fugitive in possession of a firearm, being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm, three counts of carjacking, three counts of assaulting federal officers, and three counts of carrying and using a firearm during a crime of violence. On March 18, 2008, a federal jury convicted Clark on all counts.
Due to various appeals, Clark didn't receive his official sentencing until May 17, 2013, when he was 35 years-old. The federal judge ordered the uber felon to serve a total sentence of 919 months, or over 76 years, in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Now housed in the high-security Terre Haute, Indiana, federal lockup, Clark will be 95 years old when he ends his sentence on December 12, 2071.
While many may rest easy knowing that Christopher John Clark is not able to harm anyone else, there was still a lack of local closure. Clark was never convicted of the theft of the Alabama BMW or the murder of Tuscumbia's Ronald Max Vernon.
