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May 10 (UPI) -- Recaptured Alabama inmate Casey White said he planned to engage in a shootout with authorities who pursued him and former corrections officer Vicky White. Vanderburgh County, Ind., Sheriff Dave Wedding said the pair had a cache of weapons -- four handguns and several semiautomatic weapons, including an AR-15 -- that were recovered in the car they used as they were captured by authorities after being on the run for 11 days.
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"He said that he was probably going to have a shootout at the stake of both of them losing their lives," Wedding told reporters Tuesday, citing interviews with investigators after Casey White was captured.
U.S. marshals who tracked down the pair after receiving a tip that they had traveled to Evansville, Ind., used their vehicles to push the Cadillac Casey White and Vicky White used in the escape into a ditch, likely preventing the planned shootout, Wedding said.
"That action may have saved many of my deputies and members of law enforcement," he said.
Casey White surrendered to authorities after the crash as he called for help for Vicky White, who was severely injured from what appeared to be a self-sustained gunshot wound.
"Please help my wife. She just shot herself in the head, and I didn't do it," Casey White said, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
Officials have said the two were not related, but had a "special relationship" that included communicating over the phone for two years as Casey White was an inmate at Lauderdale County Jail, where Vicky White was assistant director of corrections.
Vicky White, who was pronounced dead at an Indiana hospital Monday evening. An autopsy had been scheduled for Tuesday.
"We won't rule anything out until we have a thorough investigation by the coroner," Wedding said.
Casey White waived extradition at his first court hearing Tuesday, allowing him to be transported back to Alabama.
"I'm waiving my rights. I'm going back to Alabama," he said.
In addition to the weapons, police found about $29,000 in cash and wigs in the Cadillac they were driving at the time of their capture. Police said Vicky White was likely using cash from a recent home sale.
The pair stayed in Evansville for a week, but had paid for a 14-day motel stay, Wedding said.
"They thought ... they'd driven long enough that they wanted to stop for a while, get their bearings straight, and then figure out their next place for travel," he said.
The duo had been on the run since they left the Lauderdale County Jail on April 29, allegedly en route to court for a mental health evaluation. No such evaluation had been scheduled.
Vicky White had been charged with permitting and/or aiding in an escape, as well as second-degree forgery and identity theft, stemming from her alleged purchase of a 2007 Ford Edge used in the escape.
