Woman Hijacks Helicopter to Free 3 Prison Inmates

A helicopter hijacked by a woman swooped into a prison yard today and scooped up three inmates, including a convicted murderer, flying off with them in the midst of a gun battle in which a guard was wounded.

The fleeing chopper landed in a clearing about 10 miles away, and the inmates fled in a waiting silver sedan, authorities said.

The pilot was released unharmed.

Greenville County Sheriff Johnny Mack Brown gave this account:

A woman went to Palmetto Helicopters in Greenville at 9:45 a.m. and said she had never ridden in a helicopter.

She leased a chopper and when it was airborne pulled a gun on the pilot, Larry Green, and forced him to fly to the prison 15 miles southwest of Greenville.

The red-and-white helicopter landed in the prison yard behind a dormitory, and three inmates ran to the aircraft.

Guards fired several shots at the helicopter but were unable to bring it down.

One officer tried to pull the inmates off the helicopter but was hit by a single shot from a small-caliber handgun. The guard, who was not identified, was in stable condition at Greenville Memorial Hospital with a mouth wound.

About 25 minutes after the escape, the helicopter landed. Green was left in the helicopter.

Brown identified the inmates who escaped as James Rodney Leonard, 20, serving a life sentence for murder; William Ballew, 42, serving a 23-year, three-month sentence for armed robbery, contempt of court and attempted escape, and Jesse Glenn Smith, serving 40 years for armed robbery, receiving stolen goods and assault and battery with intent to kill.

Leonard tried to escape from Greenville County Detention Center two years ago. He managed to work his way through the jail ceiling but was found a day later over the lobby of the Greenville County Law Enforcement Center next to the jail.