Woodlee gets 10 days for harboring fugitive

A woman who harbored a wanted fugitive will serve 10 days behind bars for lying to police.

The defendant, Stephanie Woodlee, 23, was ordered this week by General Sessions Judge Larry Ross to serve 10 days of an 11-month, 29-day sentence, perform 16 hours public service work and pay $50 plus court costs for being an accessory after the fact.

Her jail sentence comes after she harbored Dustin Bates at her home in June. According to warrants against Woodlee, police arrived at her home in search of Bates after receiving information he was living there.

Police announced they had an arrest warrant against Bates, even showing the warrant to Woodlee. The woman, police say, excused herself while police stood outside her door, saying she had to attend to some clothes. She then returned moments later and resumed the conversation, denying at that point that Bates was inside the house.

Suspicious due to her demeanor, police warned the Caldwell Street woman that if they found she was lying, she would be charged with aiding a fugitive. Despite the warning, Woodlee again denied knowing Bates’ whereabouts, just as Bates made a dash out the backdoor of her home.

The fugitive was caught by police who had taken up position near the backdoor suspecting Bates would try to make a run for it while officers were at the front door. She was charged on the spot for being an accessory.