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Dylan Dougherty's alleged escape plan included note to jailers not to take it "personal"

The Dougherty gang just can't seem to stay out of the headlines. The trio of siblings, including sis Lee Grace, whose skintastic bikini photos became an Internet sensation, allegedly engaged in a cross-country crime spree that ended after a car-flipping chase in Southern Colorado last August. Now it's Dylan Dougherty's...
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The Dougherty gang just can't seem to stay out of the headlines. The trio of siblings, including sis Lee Grace, whose skintastic bikini photos became an Internet sensation, allegedly engaged in a cross-country crime spree that ended after a car-flipping chase in Southern Colorado last August. Now it's Dylan Dougherty's turn in the spotlight, for an alleged escape attempt that included a personal note to jailers he thought he was leaving behind.

As we've reported, Ryan Dougherty had racked up fourteen felony arrests prior to becoming a news magnet last summer, while Lee Grace registered five. Somehow, though, she found time to put together a Flickr photo collection featuring shots like this one:

In the profile section, she declared that she loved to "shoot guys and wreck cars," not to mention "causing mayhem with my siblings." She called herself "redneck and proud of it."

Authorities believe the Doughertys' most infamous offenses were precipitated by the requirement that Ryan register as a sex offender for sending explicit text messages to an eleven-year-old girl.

​The trio got law enforcement's attention again on August 2, prompting a bullet-filled police pursuit near Zephyrhills, followed by a bank robbery in Valdosta, Georgia a few hours later. Then they headed west, and on August 9, they were reportedly seen buying a tent at a Colorado Springs REI. The next morning, they were eyeballed heading south in a white Subaru. This precipitated another chase, at speeds that exceeded 100 miles per hour. It ended when cops put out stop sticks that caused the Subaru to flip a guardrail.

Lee Grace is said to have hopped out of the vehicle and pointed an automatic weapon at the cops -- at which point they shot her in the leg.

Since then, the Doughertys have been behind bars but seldom far from the public consciousness. Take their decision to participate in a GQ magazine profile that hit news racks right earlier this month, right around the time of Dylan's latest adventure.

On January 10, according to a Huerfana County Sheriff Department affidavit on view below in its entirety, detention staffers found a shank -- a sharpened piece of metal with a piece of cloth approximating a handle -- in his cell. Also present were a pair of sealed envelopes, with one directed to the jailers and the other intended for the FBI.

The feds' letter described a series of tools authorities discovered hidden in a hatch door that provided access to pipes in case of plumbing issues. Center employees were also able to track footprints that led through the hatch to the portion of the jail where women like were housed. In that section, the jailers found another letter, telling Lee Grace to have her belongings ready.

The plan? They would move through the area atop the ceiling to a control room, then drop in and overpower the workers they found there. Once these folks were tied up, Dylan and Lee Grace would take their keys and simply walk away.

And what did the letter to the jailers say? "I have enjoyed staying here, so don't take any of this personal."

What a polite young man!

Look below to see mug shots of Dylan, Lee Grace and Ryan, as well as the aforementioned affidavit.

Dylan Dougherty Arrest Affidavit

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More from our Colorado Crimes archive: "Lee Grace Dougherty & Dougherty gang: 76 counts, 16 for attempted murder (VIDEOS)."

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