Teen comes home as escapees charged

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - As two West Michigan fugitives arrested in Colorado after a 12-day run from the law were back in court, the 17-year-old who fled with them returned to Allegan County.

The mother of Brittany Rector, Judy Olexa, sent a text to 24 Hour News 8's Joe LaFurgey late Wednesday afternoon that reads, "We just got home, it was a very long drive. We are very happy she is back home".

The teen was apparently released from a Colorado juvenile detention facility this week. She still faces charges there.

Olexa said her daughter has been through a lot and does not wish to talk to the media right now. She said Brittany is "happy to be home".

Wednesday, Rector posted this on her Facebook page: "Going through hell...struggling with everything need a friend from the a to talk to that understands what im going through".

Meanwhile, escapees Kenneth Grauman II and Gregory Bradshaw were in a Canon City, Colo. courtroom Wednesday for what is known as the Filing of Charges portion of the case, court officials told 24 Hour News 8.

The man thought to have engineered the escape from the Lake County Residential ReEntry Program, 32-year-old Grauman, learned he faces three felonies:

• One count of manufacturing a controlled substance, specifically for the active meth lab found in the Canon City motel room where the fugitives stayed;
• One count of felony theft by receiving in connection to the 2006 Nissan Altima allegedly stolen from a town in Nebraska;
• And one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Grauman also faces a misdemeanor theft charge in connection to a license plate reported stolen in Canon City and found on the car from Nebraska.

The 23-year-old Bradshaw, who escaped with Grauman on Sept. 29 and was arrested with him on Oct. 11, faces the same three felonies and misdemeanor.

Both received court-appointed attorneys. The judge ordered them held without bond.  

Bradshaw's girlfriend Lauralee Grauman, 29, was scheduled to be in court Wednesday, but her appearance was postponed while her lawyer works on the case. 

An officer wrote in Lauralee Grauman's arrest affidavit that she "displayed symptoms of being under the influence of methamphetamines" at the time of her arrest. The report goes on to say she was "unable to be still and very fidgety." She later tested positive for methamphetamines. 

Back in West Michigan Wednesday, law enforcement agencies met to go over their efforts to catch the four. The debriefs are standard after large operations.

The fugitives' 12-day run included three high-speed chases through several West Michigan counties.

Allegan County Sheriff's Lt. Frank Baker said his department followed policy during pursuits. Some of those policies dictate how aggressive officers can be during chases. Baker said the four had not committed and violent crimes while on the run and that was taken into consideration when trying to stop the fugitives.  
 
Police are talking with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives regarding charging some of the fugitives with federal gun crimes once the Colorado justice system is done with them.