TEXARKANA, Texas —A man killed by police after escaping from the Bowie County jail this week had less than a year to serve on misdemeanor assault charges, according to court records.
Michael D. Olson, 30, had approximately 210 days remaining on his sentence when he and Wayde Burton Land, 37, went missing in the early hours Monday morning from the second floor of the Bowie County jail annex located behind the Bi-State Justice Building in downtown Texarkana.
Olson pleaded guilty Feb. 25 to misdemeanor assault with bodily injury, family violence, in connection with a felony arrest Jan. 8 for assault on a pregnant person. A two-year probation Olson was serving for a prior misdemeanor assault was revoked the same day.
Olson pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault Dec. 10 and was placed on a two-year probation with an order to have no contact with a female victim. Olson was arrested for assault involving a different woman Jan. 8 at a Texarkana, Texas, motel.
Olson allegedly kicked his pregnant girlfriend Jan. 8 and was arrested for felony assault of a pregnant person by Texarkana, Texas, police. Olson pleaded guilty Feb. 25 to the lesser charge of misdemeanor assault with bodily injury, family violence.
County Court at Law Judge Craig Henry sentenced Olson to 280 days in jail for both assaults at a hearing Feb. 25. Olson received credit for 45 days time served in the family violence assault and 90 days credit for time served on the prior assault.
Land, the surviving inmate, is likely to be charged with felony escape in Bowie County.
Bowie County District Attorney Jerry Rochelle said Land could face two to 10 years in prison for third-degree felony escape.
“But we may seek to enhance the punishment based on prior felony convictions, possibly up to the range of 25 to 99 or life,” Rochelle said.
Land was being held in the Bowie County jail on a charge of burglary of a building at the time of the escape. In addition, Arkansas authorities had placed a hold on Land for warrants in Miller County involving probations he was serving there for breaking and entering and theft of property.
Land was facing a maximum of two years confinement in Texas and six years on each of two felonies in Arkansas.
Land was arrested by Texarkana, Texas, police Jan. 22 after officers responded to an alarm call at the Bay Wash self-service car wash on State Line Avenue, according to a probable cause affidavit. After hearing footsteps above, police requested the assistance of a fire department ladder truck to gain access to the roof so they could determine if they were hearing a person or an animal.
“Once the fire department arrived with a truck, the suspect, Wayde Land, came to the edge of the roof,” the affidavit states.
Two Texarkana, Texas, officers climbed up the ladder and onto the roof, where they allegedly found Land and arrested him.
A cutting tool was used to make a hole in the car wash roof large enough for a person of “skinny build” to squeeze through and enter the building. Land allegedly broke into a vending machine in the business and a Pittsburgh wrench set was allegedly taken.
A search of a red duffle bag Land was carrying allegedly revealed the missing wrenches and a Ryobi angle grinder which could be used to cut a metal roof. A small plastic bag containing a broken green pill suspected to be Xanax, a prescription-only benzodiazepene used to treat anxiety, was allegedly found in Land’s possession by jail staff during the booking process.
At the time of his arrest for the alleged car wash burglary, Land was serving terms of probation in Miller County for theft of property and breaking and entering. According to circuit court records in Miller County, land was placed on a five-year term of probation March 3, 2020, for theft of property involving an offense committed in 2017.
Land was arrested Aug. 28, 2021, for felony breaking and entering and misdemeanor theft of scrap metal and possession of drug paraphernalia. Land stole copper wire from a business and had a meth pipe and syringe in his possession.
Land pleaded guilty to breaking and entering Nov. 30 and was placed on a six-year probation in Miller County. Land’s existing five-year term of probation for theft of property was reinstated at that time. Motions to revoke both of Land’s probations in Miller County were filed after his arrest for burglary in Bowie County in January. The motions to revoke remain pending.
Both Land and Olson were apprehended by Texarkana, Arkansas, police Monday at about 1 p.m. Olson was shot and killed during a struggle with officers as they attempted to take him into custody, according to Arkansas State Police.