Flapjacks proved to be the undoing for an escaped inmate and his mother when their stop at IHOP gave police just enough time to catch up.
Heard County authorities said 27-year-old Joshua Gullat was on work detail cleaning floors in the bathroom of the jail when he ran out the door around 11:30 p.m. Monday.
Investigators later listened to a call he made earlier in the night and learned that he had planned the escape and expected to have his mother, 54-year-old Kathy Lynn Pence, pick him up.
That ended up being a major clue in the investigation. Officers were able to track her cell phone to an IHOP on Bullsboro Drive in Newnan. Local police then picked them both up around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday morning where he was with his mother and children.
Had he remained in jail Gullat would have been taken to Coweta County for a work release program for the next 24 to 36 months where he would have worked during the day and returned to jail at night.
Now, in addition to the second-degree burglary charges he already had, he now faces a felony escape charge. Meanwhile, his mother is charged with aiding and abetting.