GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Hundreds of men and women who are out of prison are placed on parole in Michigan. Some follow the rules, but others don’t, skipping mandatory appointments and becoming fugitives.
There’s a task force assigned to catching these offenders and putting them back behind bars.
Vernon Burrell and Jaime Hughes are two parole absconders who opted to run from the law together. Both have felony warrants out of Grand Rapids after Burrell’s grandmother's credit card went missing.
“We don’t know which of them took it,” Sharp said. “We do know they were together. Grand Rapids has issued a warrant for both of them for this.”
He says the two may not be together anymore but believes both are still in the Grand Rapids area.
“Jaime was seen on the north side, and they’re kind of south side type people, so they could have broken up by now,” Sharp said.
Hughes began serving time in 2007, more recently locked up in 2011 after cashing counterfeit checks from the Grand Rapids Urban League at a Fifth Third Bank in Wyoming.
“We’ve actually arrested her before,” Sharp said. "She had absconded a while ago we picked her up with someone else, another guy."
Burrell began serving time in 2003 and has three felony convictions, 14 misdemeanors, and five probation violations on his record. The most recent case involves a plea deal for assault with a dangerous weapon in Kentwood after he struck a man in the face with a metal scooter, knocking out a tooth.
Sharp warns anyone who may be helping the pair that they can be sentenced to a four-year felony for harboring fugitives.
Vernon Laron Burrell, 33, 5’6” and 145 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He has several tattoos: The state of Michigan on his left arm, "foolz" on his left forearm, "angel" on his lower right arm, and "Gibson" on his right forearm.
Jaime Marie Hughes, 27, is 5’7” 155 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. She has a tattoo on her lower back that says “Jaime” inside of a heart.
If you know where they are, call the U.S. Marshals at 877-926-8332 or the MDOC tip line at 1-844- 362-8477.
