‘We think they’re at the IHOP’: After inmate escapes, he’s found eating with mom, officials say

Joshua Gullat (left), Kathy Pence

Joshua Gullat (left), Kathy Pence

You’d “batter” believe this man is headed back behind bars.

Officials in Coweta County said an inmate escaped late Monday night and — with the help of his mother — fled to a classic late-night food destination known for its pancakes: IHOP.

Joshua Gullat, who was serving a sentence in Heard County for burglary, was cleaning bathrooms at the jail at about 11:30 p.m. when he slipped out a side door and through a gate, Heard County Sheriff’s Office investigator Sgt. Dan Boswell told Channel 2 Action News.

Sheriff’s office officials said the man’s mother drove them to IHOP. (Photo: Channel 2 Action News)

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Gullat’s mother, Kathy Pence, was waiting with a car outside, and the two drove to a Newnan IHOP, which is where investigators found them about two hours later, Boswell said.

Both were taken into custody.

Heard County officials found the duo by tracking Pence’s phone.

“The next thing you know, we're on the phone with Coweta County dispatchers and the sheriff's office,” Boswell told the news station. “We said, ‘We think they're at the IHOP.’”

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