Inmate Runs, Still Running

Adapted from KOMU-TV, Missouri:

Cops and deputies continue their search for escapee, 31-year-old Curtis Jones, who walked out of the Howard County Jail Sunday night. Trackers are moving across the county trying to find him.

The escape happened around 1 a.m. when inmate Curtis Jones pulled an old jail trick: He jammed the lock with the cardboard from a roll of toilet paper and while the guards were away, he slipped right out.

This wasn't Jones' first break-out. He escaped from the old Fayette jail in 1996. Curtis Jones was imprisoned for multiple counts of theft.

The convict is a white male with a shaved head. Jones was last spotted in Fayette riding a red bicycle and wearing orange jumpsuit pants, a red shirt and red flip-flops.

Monday night, the Howard County Sheriff's Department disclosed that they found Jones' clothes and bike, but did not say where.

If they dressed me like that I’d escape too, if only for a change of clothes., The only jail uniform worse than this is at Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Tent City lockup in Phoenix, where the residents wear the traditional horizontal black-and-white broad stripes over pink underwear. It irks the prisoners even more than the all-bologna-sandwich diet.

Guards find Unauthorized Egress

Adapted from KSWT-13 television news, Yuma, Arizona:

Over the weekend correction officers at the Imperial County Jail, El Centro, California, found a 2 1/2 foot hole in the roof covered up with a plaster finish. It was located where the inmates were housed.

The guards say some inmates broke a drain pipe and used it to break the roof. They were reportedly going to escape through the air ducts.

Responding to the find, corrections officers moved eight inmates from minimum to maximum security. Three of those inmates are being charged with attempted escape.

Because they were federal inmates, the investigation is now in the hands of the U.S. Marshals.

Inmate Runs Out Front Door

Adapted from WAFB television news, Louisiana:

Hours after his escape, a Livingston Parish inmate is back in custody.

Early Monday morning, 31-year-old Jared Federic sat in a booking room at the jail waiting to be taken back to his cell. A few hours later, authorities say, Frederic climbed through the ceiling, down into the lobby, and ran out the front door.

Officers from a number of agencies barricaded the surrounding area.

Frederic was at the Livingston jail after being arrested Monday morning. He was at large then because on Friday night the jail had erroneously released him while he was serving time on a drug charge.

"To tell a man he's free and then come home to his kids and then they put him back in? That would mess anybody's mind up," said Frederic’s fiancé, Deona Chandler.

After almost four hours at large, Federic was captured just a few miles from where he escaped.

Federic now faces a whole new set of charges, including escape. Authorities say it could land him in jail for up to five years.

Inmates Brought Down From the Ceiling

Adapted from the Terre Haute TribStar, Indiana:

Two inmates were discovered in the ceiling of the Vigo County Jail about 9:30 p.m. Saturday, according to Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Jake Compton, who acknowledged the inmates were most likely trying to escape.

The inmates allegedly forced a section of the jail ceiling up in the jail’s M-Block and tried to climb through metal spacings, Compton said.

Anthony Cross, one of the inmates allegedly in the ceiling, became “very aggressive and combative” with jail personnel during the recapture process and would not come down. A struggle ensued, leaving officers with scratches and bruises and Cross with a possible broken jaw. Compton said Cross’s injuries are “unfortunate.”

Cross is “a violent offender” in jail facing charges for multiples offenses, including receiving stolen property, probation violation, false reporting, driving while suspended, robbery and carjacking. He was in custody in lieu of a total $110,000 cash bond.

His next court date was scheduled for July 14.

Cross was transported to Union Hospital and then Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis before returning to the jail.

Dayton, Texas, Escape is Foiled

Adapted from Texas media:

Jarrod Wayne Gee, 31, a federal prisoner being housed in Liberty County Jail, attempted a jail-break in the early morning hours of Sunday, June 14, but he was captured before he could make it off jail property.

The attempted escape was first reported at 2:30 a.m. Sunday, June 14.

Gee gained access to a ‘pipe chase,’ which is an area used to access water and sewer pipes. In order to get to that area, Gee reportedly climbed through a hole in a sheet metal wall in his jail cell. Gee claims he cut through the 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick steel wall by using blades from disposable razors and pencil sharpeners.

Authorities are skeptical of his story.

Around the time that Gee had gained access to the pipe chase, Correctional Officer David Trahan was called to that area of the jail by another inmate regarding a clogged water pipe.

As Trahan opened the door to check the pipe, Gee jumped out on him. A scuffle ensued and Trahan dropped his hand-held radio. Gee ran to the control room.

Gee was attempting to open the doors when Trahan caught up with him. A struggle ensued again.
At that time an unnamed female officer called for the dispatcher to send assistance.

Gee broke loose from Trahan again and ran to the sally port area, which is where officers load and unload prisoners.

Gee reportedly manually opened the rolling doors to escape.

As he crawled under the door, officers from the Liberty Police Department, Liberty County Sheriff’s Office and troopers from the Texas Department of Public Safety arrived, ending the escape attempt

Three correctional officers for Community Education Centers, the jail contractor, have been suspended pending further investigation.

According to LCSO Chief Deputy Ken Defoor, there were some doors that appear to have been left unlocked.

Don’t you hate it when inmates jump out of the wall at you?

This is enough for me. I will blog again the next time someone bolts for freedom.

Manhunt for Accused Killer (as of midnight, 20 June 2009)

Parish the Thought: Accused Killers Escape Louisiana Jail

From Louisiana media:

Four men escaped from the St. Tammany Parish Jail Thursday night. Three of the escapees have been recaptured and one is still at large.

Sheriff Jack Strain said Friday afternoon that the search continues for Timothy Murray and warned that residents, particularly those who live north of Covington, should remain vigilant and consider him dangerous.

St. Tammany Parish deputies, police dogs and two helicopters are still searching for Murray near the Covington facility. Law enforcement officers will search for Murray in a ten-mile radius around the St. Tammany jail where he was housed while awaiting trial for murder. Efforts will focus on the less-densely populated areas outside the city, where officials believe Murray is most likely to hide.

Strain asked that residents lock their homes and cars, be aware of their surroundings and call 911 if they see a suspicious person or have questions about police activity in their area.

Murray's three confederates, each charged with offenses related to murder, who escaped from the St. Tammany Parish jail in Covington Thursday night were caught early Friday morning, authorities said.

A helicopter from Livingston Parish, equipped with a thermal-imaging camera, spotted the three men behind the Walgreens on Collins Boulevard about 1:50 a.m. as law enforcement combed the area. They were quickly surrounded, arrested and returned to jail.

The Parish’s initial probe revealed the inmates somehow got their hands on a tool to help them break out, Parish President Kevin Davis said.

The parish president praised the sheriff's office for the way it reacted to the escape and is grateful for help from other agencies.

Man Escapes Ozzie Prison Farm

From Australian media:

Police are searching for an as-yet-unnamed 24-year-old man who escaped from Lotus Glen Correctional Centre in far north Queensland in the early hours of this morning (18 June).

"The man was present at a 12.20 a.m. head count and was not present at a 3.30 a.m. count," a Department of Correctional Services spokesman said.

Officers at Lotus Glen, 20 kilometers north of Atherton, dsay the man had been in jail serving seven months for break and enter offences, and was due to be released in July.

Lotus Glen Correctional Centre houses 115 "open security" classification inmates in a prison farm environment.

18 Bust Out of Honduran Prison

Adapted from Central American Media:

Eighteen reputed “Mara 18” gang members tunneled their way out of a prison in the northern city of San Pedro Sula, Honduran police said. The escape occurred around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Two of the escapees are charged in the 2007 kidnapping of the brother of Tottenham midfielder Wilson Palacios.

Police identified two of the escaped inmates as Elmer Orellana and Alexander Reyes, who are charged in the kidnap-killing of Palacios' brother Edwin.

The Mara 18 street gang has been implicated in kidnapping, extortion, killings and robbery.

Police say the tunnel extended 50 meters (164 feet) from the prisoners’ cell into the bathroom of a nearby house and that the escapees’ associates were waiting for them in getaway vehicles.

The prison is located near downtown San Pedro Sula, Honduras’ second-largest city and the country’s business hub.

Police sealed off the prison as prosecutors launched an investigation of the mass jailbreak, the spokesman said.

Escapee From Frontenac Recaptured

From Canadian media:

Andrew John Wood, who escaped from the minimum-security Frontenac Institution in Kingston, Ontario last Saturday, has been recaptured. Wood was convicted of murder in the shooting death of a Toronto man in 1989.

Wood, 42, escaped from the minimum-security Frontenac Institution in Kingston last Saturday by just walking away. Police said Wood was arrested Thursday night while in a car with a female driver in South Frontenac Township. Wood was charged with escaping lawful custody.

The unidentified 35-year-old Kingston woman faces charges of breach of trust, obstructing police, accessory after the fact of escape lawful custody and party to the offence of escape lawful custody. Both are to appear in court Friday.

Wood was arrested in February 1989, three days after the body of Robert Ryan Glenn was found face down on an embankment in Milton, Ontario.

Murderers Nabbed! (as of 11.38, 7 June 2009)

Alabama prison escapees caught in North Dakota
From wires and local news, Alabama:

The two inmates who escaped from a Perry County Corrections Center were captured early Saturday morning after a nearly 14-hour standoff more than 1,200 miles away from Alabama.

U.S. Marshals say Joshua Southwick and Ashton Mink were caught in North Dakota. The four were taken into custody around 2:25 p.m. Saturday.

Joshua Southwick, 26, and Ashton Mink, 22, escaped from the Perry County Detention Center in Uniontown, Ala., on May 25. Authorities say Angela Diana Mink, 25, and Jacquelin Rae Kennamer Mink, 25, Mink's sister and wife, helped the men escape.

Southwick and Angela Mink surrendered to authorities. Ashton and Jacquelin Mink both received gunshot wounds as they tried to escape and were being treated at a hospital.
Marshals say the four were allegedly involved in a robbery and police chase before being arrested.


Georgia inmate back in custody
From The Walton Tribune, Georgia:

SNELLVILLE — An escaped prisoner from Loganville was re-captured May 29 in Snellville following a brief 30-hour stint on the outside.

He allegedly fled in a city of Rome Public Works vehicle while on work detail May 28.

According to the Georgia Department of Corrections, Jack Belcher, 41, was captured at 7:40 p.m. following a joint effort of the Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force and Floyd County Prison officials.

Officials said Belcher was reported to have spent some of the time in Loganville before being tracked down in Snellville.

According to state prison records, Belcher has been in and out of prison since first being incarcerated in 1988 for forgery. Belcher had been held in the Floyd County Prison since February on charges of possession of methamphetamines, impersonating another individual and possession of a firearm by a felon.


Not much this weekend. My theory is that it is too hot to escape. Whatever. The bottom line is that I am done for this morning. We will blog again when someone escapes. Ciao.

Killers Escape! (Stories as of 3:20 a.m. 31 May 2009)

Killers Escape Dressed as Guards

From wire services:

GRADY, ARKANSAS — Two men convicted of capital murder escaped from Cummins Prison on Friday night after putting on corrections officers uniforms and walking out during a shift change.

Spokeswoman for the Arkansas Department of Corrections Dina Tyler said video surveillance showed inmates Jeffrey Grinder, 32, and Calvin Adams, 39, putting on the uniforms, which are made at Cummins, in the prison library after the 6 p.m. head count, then walking out of the prison about 20 minutes later. The pair drove off in a car --a maroon or burgundy colored, 4-door sedan-- that had been left for them in the prison parking lot.

They were not missed by corrections officials until the 10 p.m. inmate headcount, Tyler said. Prison officials are trying to determine if all policies and procedures were followed.
Both men were serving life sentences without the possibility of parole. Local officials say they pose a threat to anyone they encounter.

Grinder is a white male, 5-feet, 9-inches tall, weighing 150 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. Adams is a white male, 5-feet, 7-inches tall, weighing 154 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Grinder was convicted of capital murder in 2004. Adams was convicted of the same offense in 1995. Both men have family in Arkansas and out of state.

I guess Cummins is not to be confused with a federal “Super Max” prison.

Mass Jailbreak at Peru Prison

From wire services:

LIMA (Peru) - AT LEAST 44 inmates broke out of a remote prison in Peru's northern jungle on Saturday, prison authorities reported.

The escape took place at the San Humberto de Bagua Grande prison in Utcubamba, in the Amazonas region. According to local daily El Comercio, the incident occurred at 6:10 a.m. local time (1110 GMT). When two guards opened the prisoners' inside doors, they were suddenly ambushed by about 100 inmates who threatened the officers with knives, the National Penal Institute (INPE) said in a statement.

The inmates fled through the front door, taking with them an AK-47 automatic rifle, the INPE said. Some witnesses said that some prisoners jumped into a river near the prison, while others escaped into forest to hide.

Early reports said that 25 inmates had fled and were holding prison guards hostage.
The majority of those who fled were convicted or facing trial for violent robbery, the EFE news agency said.

A senior penal system authority flew to the site while the National Police began an operation to re-capture the convicts.

A special committee meanwhile was in talks with jungle natives to stop vehicles on an area highway to help authorities apprehend the inmates, according to the president of the Amazonas region, Oscar Altamirano Quispe.

The prison is located some 900 kilometres north of Lima. The prison designed to hold 60 prisoners, has more than 200 inmates and 11 guards.

That was short and sweet. See you Monday ...if anyone escapes, that is.

Flown The Coop (as of 5 a.m., EDT, 29 May 2009)

I am tracking, as best I can, those individuals who have proactively refused the hospitality of the Government, i.e. escaped from prison …or the county jail or the local lockup.

I will on days when there is prison break news. If a comment seems fitting, I add one at the end of the story. If not, I don't. If there are no prison escapes on a given day, I don't blog. So now, while the guard isn’t looking…

The Jailer just Happened to Be in the Cuff Key Business

From the Durant (Oklahoma) Daily Democrat…

An inmate who bolted Wednesday while being led back to jail after a court hearing unlocked his leg and arm restraints with a handcuff key that he bought from a jailer, authorities said.

The jailer was arrested Wednesday evening and is being held in another county. He is expected to be charged Friday. Bryan County Sheriff Bill Sturch said they reviewed the courthouse surveillance footage and determined that Billy Joe Wallace, 18, …who was quickly captured, was restrained and also chained to other inmates before he escaped. According to Sturch, Wallace had obtained a key from a jailer to open the handcuffs and leg irons. Investigators believe Wallace unlocked the leg irons while in the jury box and that he opened the handcuffs after being led outside. The leg irons were still on his ankles while he was being led back to jail but were unlocked.

“He had communicated with at least two people outside of the jail that he was going to do this,” Sturch said. “This was all planned.”

Wallace ran while the door outside of the jail was being opened according to the sheriff’s office, and he then got into a car that was parked in the alley behind First Christian Church across the street from the library. Authorities said he then drove to Taco Casa where he picked up his girlfriend and a 17-year-old boy. A few minutes later, a Durant officer who was on Rodeo Road saw a silver Honda Accord traveling on Highway 78. Sturch said every exit from the city [was] sealed within three minutes.

Authorities said that speeds [in the chase] exceeded 100 miles per hour. Calera Police [roadblocks] were set up at the highways 78 and 70E intersection at Chuck’s Corner and Wallace turned around and headed back toward Durant, according to Sturch.

“I’ll bet you 25 squad cars were behind him between Durant and Chuck’s Corner — he didn’t have a prayer,” Sturch said.

Deputy Shawn Pierce used road spikes and deflated the car’s front tires, according to Sturch, and the chase ended with a crash on East Locust Street. Wallace was tackled and brought back to jail. A Durant officer suffered an injured shoulder during the scuffle.

The escape was reported to the communications center at the Durant Police Department at 9:54 a.m. and Wallace was back in custody less than 20 minutes later.

His girlfriend was arrested for suspicion of aiding and abetting escape and the juvenile was also taken into custody. Authorities said the teen knew of the escape plans and he could be charged as an adult.

The woman who owned the car told investigators that she had been asked to come pick up some of Wallace’s property from the jail and that she was not aware of the escape plans. She said Wallace told her to get out of the vehicle and that he got in and drove away. She has not been arrested.

Sheriff’s Investigator John Bates said Wallace’s girlfriend placed a decoy 911 call claiming she was being chased on Ranchette Road in a failed attempt to divert officers to the west side of the city. She also said the escape had been planned for approximately one week, Bates said.

“This was a well-planned thing,” Bates said. “They had to have a lot of things go right.”

According to Bates, the jailer admitted to selling Wallace the key. An investigation is continuing and authorities said there may be additional arrests.

Wallace will be locked down and the next time he is escorted to a court appearance, it will be with an armed deputy, according to Sturch, who said Wallace is now facing 25-30 years in prison. Wallace was initially jailed on a first-degree robbery charge.

his was not the first time Wallace escaped. On May 4, he fled after he was brought to the emergency room for a head injury, according to the sheriff’s office. Sturch said Wallace was free a little more than 32 hours until he was arrested at Stone Creek Baptist Church by Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers. A jailer was fired because Wallace was not wearing handcuffs and leg irons while at the hospital. Wallace was charged with escape for that incident and ordered held without bail.

Three Escapees Caught in Jieshou City, China

From chinaview.cn and Xinhua News Agency:

Police have caught all three prison escapees who broke away with violence on May 23 from a prison in east China's Jieshou City, Anhui Province, a senior police officer said Friday.

Cai Zhaoliang, police chief of Fuyang City, which administrates Jieshou, said the three escapees were caught in neighboring Henan Province Thursday. Cai said inmate Wang Hanyu was the chief instigator of the premeditated prison break. He died in the attempt, after he cut his femoral artery on the iron halberd on the prison gate and failed [to get?] emergency care.

Three other inmates escaped from the detention center: Guo Wenwu, 20, serving 11 years; Guo Bingwei, 24, doing 8 years; and Liu Kai, a 17-year-old in custody [pending sentencing?]. The three were convicted of theft and robbery.

Cai said Jieshou Prison is overcrowded, and lacks sufficient police personnel to guarantee security. The four escapees shared the same ward with 15 other inmates. They pretended to be fighting at about 1:50 a.m. and escaped when police opened the door to stop the fighting. …Prison officer Ma Hui entered the ward with five other guards. …Ma did not lock the corridor door when he opened the ward. The [escapees] hit Ma [in the] head and ran directly toward the prison gate. After the incident, Ma and another prison officer were detained for investigation, and the prison chief and a prosecutor were removed from their posts.

Help from “inside” seems to be theme this week…

Don’t Worry, The Supervisor is Going to Be Okay

From WTVC Channel 9 in Chattanooga, Tennessee…

A spokesman with the Floyd County Prison says 41-year-old Jack Belcher took off while he was on work detail. Deputy Warden of Security, David Jackson, says Belcher asked the guard on duty if he could use the restroom. Then they heard squealing tires, and saw Belcher speeding off in a City of Rome pick up truck.

Officials working this case do not know if Belcher is armed. The escape happened around 1:30 this afternoon [May 28]. The U.S. Marshal's Office and Fugitive Squad have been trying to find Belcher ever since. They say they have leads, but can't release them. It is not known if Belcher has family or friends in the Chattanooga area. Jackson says it's possible Belcher is on the way to Texas, but couldn't confirm that.

Jack Belcher has brown hair and blues eyes. He's 5'7' and weighs 160 pounds. He was last seen in Rome City Ford F-150. If you think you have seen Jack Belcher, call 911. Jackson says the supervisor working during the escape will not be reprimanded.

NZ's longest prison break

From the Sunday News, New Zealand…

Convicted extortionist Brandon Victor Pillay is New Zealand's greatest prison escaper. The South African migrant walked off a Rangipo Prison detail, and is on the run ... eight years later. And Sunday News has been told Pillay's "walkaway escape" is the most common method Kiwi inmates use to break free.

Pillay who fled the Tongariro-based jail on August 10, 2001 is New Zealand's longest-running escapee in recent history according to statistics released to Sunday News under the Official Information Act.

At the time of his escape, the then 24-year-old Pillay described as 171cm tall, of skinny build with black hair and brown eyes and speaking with a strong South African accent was serving a 15-month sentence for extortion. He was one of seven prisoners to escape from Rangipo Prison that year.

A Department of Corrections spokesman said Pillay, of South African and Indian descent, was the "longest escapee since at least the early 90s".

The next longest time a prisoner had recently spent at large was believed to have been the almost seven years by William Gordon Brough. Part way through a four-year term for drug-related crimes, Brough escaped from Wanganui prison on August 16, 2002 and evaded capture until March this year.

Corrections said escapees are generally captured within a week.

Pillay and Brough's escape methods were classified as "other" by Corrections meaning they simply walked away from the prison or a jail-related programme. Between August 2007 and March 2009, 23 prisoners escaped that way.

Prison Services executive services manager Kelley Reeve said the "walkaway escape" was "the most common method of escape used" by Kiwi prisoners and Corrections was addressing the issue.

Between July 2007 and March 2009, 10 other prisoners escaped by breaking out of either their prison, a police cell, a court complex or "any other place of custodial control".

A total of 33 prisoners escaped from New Zealand prisons between July 2007 and March 2009. The jail with the single most escapes was Waikeria Prison, near Te Awamutu, with four prisoners walking out of custody and two breaking out.

Prison escapes have been on the decline over the past decade, from 89 in the 1996-1997 financial year to 19 during 2006/2007.

Scots Justice Minister in Dutch After Second Inmate Bolts Honor Program

From British news services…

Scottish Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill was facing fresh calls to quit last night after a convicted murderer went on the run from the same jail another violent criminal had fled just over a week earlier.

A furious political row broke out when it emerged that both he and First Minister Alex Salmond knew killer John Brown had absconded from a Tayside open prison but did not mention it during a debate in the Scottish Parliament about an earlier incident involving Brian “Hawk” Martin.

As police continued to hunt for 57-year-old Brown, Labour leader Iain Gray described the ministers’ actions as “completely unacceptable” and urged Mr. Salmond to apologise.

Brown failed to return to Castle Huntly jail, near Dundee, on Wednesday after being given home leave. His disappearance came two days after Martin handed himself in to police a week after going on the run from Castle Huntly. Brown was transferred to Castle Huntly from Shotts Prison in Lanarkshire on February 12 and was serving a life sentence after being convicted of murder at the High Court in Glasgow in 1976.

Brown is described as 5ft 5in, with short, brown hair and green eyes. He has links with the Glasgow area. Tayside Police urged anyone who had seen Brown or had information about his whereabouts to contact them.

Martin, 51, was jailed in 2006 for a shotgun attack on a former drug dealer in his Fife home.

It emerged last night that both Mr Salmond and Mr MacAskill had been told about Brown’s disappearance on Wednesday evening, but kept quiet at Holyrood [the Scottish Parliament] yesterday.

Mr Gray said it was “inexcusable” that the first minister did not tell parliament about Brown’s disappearance: “It is incredible to think that Alex Salmond thought it best not to inform parliament of this development. His actions do not befit the office of first minister. …Mr MacAskill’s failure to deal with this debacle means he must go, but the first minister is also hugely damaged by this affair.”

On Monday, the day Martin handed himself in to police, Mr MacAskill said he had been informed by the Scottish Prison Service that Martin had previously escaped from prison 22 years ago.

The Escapees Under The Stairs

From KansasCity.com…

JEFFERSON CITY --A public defender told a Cole County judge Wednesday that 33-year-old Christopher Sims was not guilty of first-degree murder in the pickaxe killing of 28-year-old Toby Viles.

Sims and another inmate, Shannon Phillips, were found after nearly four days behind the hollow bottom of a staircase — less than 10 yards from where the killing happened in a basement at the Missouri State Penitentiary.

Sims is currently an inmate at the Jefferson City Correctional Center. He has been in prison since 1998 after being convicted and sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder and armed criminal action.

Phillips previously was sentenced to life in prison in the killing.

It's One At a Time in Washington State

From KIMATV.com in Washington State…

Yakima -- As one offender is put behind bars another escapes.

Billy Garner was at the Ahtanum View work release program, a partial confinement facility. Garner had a pass to go to Wal-Mart Saturday but never came back. He was arrested Wednesday in Ritzville, but we were just told about it Thursday which made us a little nervous. "It is our policy and procedure to notify the public about prison escapes, so the key here is to recognize the difference between an escape from a prison and an escape from a work release facility."

Department of Corrections tells us Garner will not return to the work release program. He'll now go to prison, which would mean it is policy to let us know if he gets away from there.

Another Jailer-Aided Escape

From the Durant (Oklahoma) Daily Democrat…

DURANT — An inmate who bolted Wednesday while being led back to jail after a court hearing unlocked his leg and arm restraints with a handcuff key that he bought from a jailer, authorities said.

The jailer was arrested Wednesday evening and is being held in another county. He is expected to be charged Friday.

Bryan County Sheriff Bill Sturch said they reviewed the courthouse surveillance footage and determined that Billy Joe Wallace, 18, Durant, who was quickly captured, was restrained and also chained to other inmates before he escaped.

According to Sturch, Wallace had obtained a key from a jailer to open the handcuffs and leg irons. Investigators believe Wallace unlocked the leg irons while in the jury box and that he opened the handcuffs after being led outside. The leg irons were still on his ankles while he was being led back to jail but were unlocked.

“He had communicated with at least two people outside of the jail that he was going to do this,” Sturch said. “This was all planned.”

Wallace ran while the door outside of the jail was being opened according to the sheriff’s office, and he then got into a car that was parked in the alley behind First Christian Church across the street from the library.

Authorities said he then drove to Taco Casa where he picked up his girlfriend and a 17-year-old boy. A few minutes later, a Durant officer who was on Rodeo Road saw a silver Honda Accord traveling on Highway 78. Sturch said every exit from the city had been sealed within three minutes.

Authorities said that speeds exceeded 100 miles per hour.

Calera Police were set up at the highways 78 and 70E intersection at Chuck’s Corner and Wallace turned around and headed back toward Durant, according to Sturch.

“I’ll bet you 25 squad cars were behind him between Durant and Chuck’s Corner — he didn’t have a prayer,” Sturch said.

Deputy Shawn Pierce used road spikes and deflated the car’s front tires, according to Sturch, and the chase ended with a crash on East Locust Street. Wallace was tackled and brought back to jail. A Durant officer suffered an injured shoulder during the scuffle.

The escape was reported to the communications center at the Durant Police Department at 9:54 a.m. and Wallace was back in custody less than 20 minutes later.

His girlfriend was arrested for suspicion of aiding and abetting escape and the juvenile was also taken into custody. Authorities said the teen knew of the escape plans and he could be charged as an adult.

The woman who owned the car told investigators that she had been asked to come pick up some of Wallace’s property from the jail and that she was not aware of the escape plans. She said Wallace told her to get out of the vehicle and that he got in and drove away. She has not been arrested.

Sheriff’s Investigator John Bates said Wallace’s girlfriend placed a decoy 911 call claiming she was being chased on Ranchette Road in a failed attempt to divert officers to the west side of the city.

She also said the escape had been planned for approximately one week, Bates said.

“This was a well-planned thing,” Bates said. “They had to have a lot of things go right.”

According to Bates, the jailer admitted to selling Wallace the key.

An investigation is continuing and authorities said there may be additional arrests.

Wallace will be locked down and the next time he is escorted to a court appearance, it will be with an armed deputy, according to Sturch, who said Wallace is now facing 25-30 years in prison. Wallace was initially jailed on a first-degree robbery charge.

According to Sturch, Wallace planned the getaway by communicating through the inmate telephone system and by mail. Inmates are allowed to make collect telephone calls.

Investigators are working on reports about the incident and in addition to an escape charge, Wallace is expected to be hit with other charges, including attempting to elude police and running a roadblock, according to Sturch.

This was not the first time Wallace escaped. On May 4, he fled after he was brought to the emergency room for a head injury, according to the sheriff’s office. Sturch said Wallace was free a little more than 32 hours until he was arrested at Stone Creek Baptist Church by Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers. A jailer was fired because Wallace was not wearing handcuffs and leg irons while at the hospital. Wallace was charged with escape for that incident and ordered held without bail.

That's it for today. I will post again when and if there is news. After all, people don't escape from prison every day, do they?

Flown The Coop (as of 8 a.m. 28 May 2009)

This is the first day I'll be tracking, as best I can, those individuals who have proactively refused the hospitality of the Government.

The other night I heard someone say on television, "People escape from jail all the time."

Do they?

Let's see if they do. I will post on days when there is prison break news. If a comment seems fitting, I add one at the end of the story. If not, I don't. If there are no prison escapes on a given day, I don't blog. Now let's all open our Bibles, extract our digging tools, and get busy...

Gone, But Not Far
From KTEN Channel 10 serving North Texas and Southern Oklahoma:

The sheriff says inmate Billy Wallace ran down an alley behind the courthouse, and then headed South on 3rd Street where he got into a car. He says in all his escape lasted about 15 minutes, but that 15 minutes of freedom could put him behind bars for the rest of his life.

Sheriff Bill Sturch says, "At the rate he's going, he's going to spend the better part of his life in prison."

For a second time, 18-year-old Billy Wallace escaped from jailers in Bryan County, and it turns out, it may not have been just a lucky run.

Wallace's girlfriend, Jessica Miller, and another teenager also face charges. They join Wallace behind bars in the jail that's caught so much attention over the past few years because of escapes.

The sheriff says, "Basically what you have is a guy running into a hornets' nest because there was every law enforcement agency in this part of the world looking for him, and moving into that area."

Authorities believe Wallace ran from the courthouse, and jumped into a car with Miller and the teen, then raced down Highway 78, but crashed when deputies put out spike strips.

Sheriff Sturch is looking into whether Wallace had the proper restraints on at the courthouse to begin with. All he'll say is they're still investigating.

"Were checking to see how he got loose. Don't know if he was cuffed when he escaped."

If that's the case, it brings up an even bigger issue for Bryan County because just three weeks ago that's how Wallace got away the first time. A jailer didn't keep him in handcuffs and leg irons. That jailer was fired.

"It's the same old thing. He didn't get out of jail. He ran out of the courthouse, were trying to find out why and how."

For now Wallace remains locked up in the Bryan County Jail awaiting more charges.

Fifteen minutes and then the rest of his life in prison. Tough but fair.

Two Escape Private Prison (with super TV graphic)
WVUA-TV, Tuscaloosa, Alabama:

Police are searching for two prison escapees in, and around, Perry County. According to the Uniontown Police Department, Joshua Southwick and Ashton Mink escaped at about 5:30 Monday morning from the Perry County Correction Center.

Authorities say they suspect the two cut through 3 fences at the facility. The Alabama Department of Corrections leases bed space from the private facility in Uniontown.
Southwick was serving a life sentence after pleading guilty to a 2003 murder-for-hire case in Limestone County. Mink was serving time for an attempted murder conviction in Madison County in 2005. He is not scheduled for release until 2028.

Residents in the area are on edge, the two men are considered, by police, to be armed and dangerous.
“I really didn't know what to think. I just started locking my doors and I told my kids to come in the house,” said Uniontown resident Clifford Coleman to our reporter.

Many people have been calling the Uniontown Police Department, concerned about the two escapees. Most of the calls focus on one question.

“It’s mainly the same question; have they been captured?” said Uniontown Police Department Dispatcher Victoria Wilson. Wilson goes on to say, “One lady called advising that she hadn't been outside and she hasn't even opened her door for anyone. So they're pretty scared.”

Joshua Southwick is a 26-year-old white male. He has brown hair and hazel eyes. Police say he is 5’9” tall and 150 pounds. Ashton Mink is 23-years-old. He is also white with brown hair and green eyes. He’s 5’8” and weighs 165 pounds. Perry County Sheriffs Office tells us the two were last seen wearing orange prison jumpsuits.
If you see them, do not approach the pair. Call police. You can also call the Perry County Correctional Center at (334) 628-8885 with any tips on the escapees’ whereabouts.

The Tuscaloosa News adds: Prison Warden Tommy Buford did not answer phone calls from a Tuscaloosa News reporter Tuesday or Wednesday. A prison employee referred calls to Dick Harbison, the vice-president of Lafayette, La.-based LCS Corrections Services, which owns and operates the prison. The 734-bed facility houses prisoners from Alabama and other states in addition to federal prisoners.

The state’s Department of Corrections does not have oversight of the company’s management or security practices at the prison because it is a private corporation.
The Department of Corrections pays the company $32 a day to house 249 state inmates, less than the $41.71 it costs to house them in a state facility, spokesman Brian Corbett said. He said that the department has not had problems with the Uniontown facility or the company, which housed Alabama inmates in Louisiana because of prison overcrowding between 2003 and 2006.
Until last month, the prison also housed around 80 prisoners from Vermont, but the Vermont Department of Corrections removed those inmates after an investigation into prisoner complaints that they had been injured in fights with other inmates, said Seth Lipshutz, the supervising attorney in Vermont’s Prisoners’ Rights Office.
<--That's Southwick. Looks like Pvt. Pyle from Full Metal Jacket. And Mink: Not scheduled for release until 2028? Then isn't he jumping the gun just a bit? And now we know how to get out of a privately operated prison in Alabama: 1. Be from Vermont, and 2. Get punched (or punch someone else)
in the nose. Or get shanked...

No Blood Was Spilled...
Various reports, San Quentin, California

Some confusion involving a Bloodmobile truck resulted in a brief lockdown at San Quentin Tuesday. There was a blood drive at the prison, after which the truck was let out of the facility without being checked by guards for escaping prisoners.

The truck was there for staff blood donations. No inmates got close to it, corrections officials say. The lockdown lasted for about 90 minutes.


At Least She Didn't Ruin A Cake...
From the Daily Item of Sunbury, Pennsylvania...

A Millville woman who tried to help a co-defendant in a drug ring escape from the Lycoming County Prison has been sentenced to seven years in prison followed by four years of supervised release.

U.S. Middle District Senior Judge James F. McClure Jr. sentenced her Tuesday. ...She admitted she tried to help co-defendant Curtis Perry escape from prison. Perry is awaiting trial in Florida in connection with the Oct. 23, 2003, shooting death in Hialeah of an individual he and co-defendant allegedly thought would be testifying against them in another case.

The escape attempt occurred on April 27, 2006, when Kolk began drilling a hole into a wall that separated her from Perry to whom she was talking by telephone in a visitor’s booth. The Lycoming County prison does not allow contact visits. ...[A] federal prosecutor said she took a drill, bit and hacksaw blade undetected into the prison. Her goal was to make a hole in the thick wall large enough to pass the hacksaw blade to Perry, he said. Kolk did not complete the hole. [She] put the residue from the drilling in a bag and left, the prosecutor said. The hole later was discovered and the matter referred to federal marshals since Perry was their responsibility.

Since the incident, the prison requires all visitors to pass through a metal detector.

Good idea, prison.

Prisoner Gets the Shaft

From KeysNet, Florida

...Deputies say James Dumas, 45, climbed up a maintenance shaft at the Stock Island jail and gained access to a hallway that leads to visitation rooms. He was walking down the hallway when two corrections officers spotted him, recognizing him as an inmate.He was apprehended without incident while still inside the building.

Dumas reportedly told Detective Diane Mimosa that about a week prior to his attempted escape, during maintenance on plumbing in the unit Dumas was being held in, a door to a maintenance shaft apparently wasn't locked properly. Dumas discovered the error and was able to explore the shaft, looking for a way out. He was unable to find any way out using the shaft, but did manage to find his way to a maintenance closet in the visitation hallway.

He said he used pens and a highlighter to alter some of his jail clothing in hopes of looking less like an inmate; he then waited until a visitation time to attempt his escape.

"The corrections officers who spotted him and recognized what was happening did an outstanding job," Sheriff Bob Peryam said. "We will definitely be looking closely at this incident and will be doing everything we can to keep anything similar from taking place."

Dumas is accused of attempted murder in a machete attack last June 2. He's accused of trying to kill Jacob Freeman, 22, at Freeman's Key Haven home.

Working Together Toward a Common Goal

From the Houston Chronicle

MEXICO CITY -- Soldiers and police searched Monday for dozens of prisoners who busted out of a northern Mexican prison with the aid of their jailers as authorities nationwide struggle with endemic police corruption.

The 53 prisoners, including at least 11 gunmen from the Gulf Cartel drug smuggling organization, escaped early Saturday from the prison in the city of Zacatecas. As many as 30 heavily armed gangsters freed the men in a five-minute assault during which the prisoners were presumably simply set free by their guards, Zacatecas Gov. Amalia Garcia said.

Based in cities and towns bordering far South Texas, the Gulf Cartel is considered among Mexico's most powerful and violent groups.

Officials blame the Zetas, who now often act independently of the cartel, for violence, kidnappings and extortion in Zacatecas, throughout eastern and southern Mexico and into Guatemala.

...The Zetas, gunmen allied with the Gulf Cartel...have become notorious for jailbreaks like that of Zacatecas on Saturday, having raiding prisons in at least four states to rescue arrested colleagues. In Saturday's case the assailants, some dressed as police, arrived in more than a dozen vehicles, quickly entered the prison and left with their prisoners.

USAToday has more, about videos of the escape:

...The video shows bored-looking guards watching TV before one of the prisoners opens an unlocked gate to his cell block and then orders a group of inmates to follow him into the guards' room. The guards step aside, making no moves to stop the escape, until they are shoved into the cell block by the inmates, some of them armed. Prisoners then cover the camera with a blanket. Meanwhile, a second security camera outside the prison filmed the arrival of gunmen in police cars with flashing lights shortly before 5 a.m. Two guards run to open the front gate without questioning the drivers.

This is just one event in the very bloody and unfunny civil war going on in Mexico between the drug cartels and the government.

Up and Coming Offenders

From the Daily Journal, San Mateo County, California...

...[A] former juvenile hall ward convicted of helping a 17-year old murder defendant escape...now faces prison after his probation officer claims he violated probation five times since being released from custody.

One of the violations filed by the officer alleges Vanher Cho, 19, threatened and battered his mother and elderly aunt at their San Francisco residence May 15. A week later, police arrested Cho, [who is being held without bail]. Even one of the alleged violations could send Cho to prison for the two-year term he avoided after pleading no contest last April to one felony count of aiding and abetting. Although prosecutors sought prison and Cho’s defense asked for the Pathways Mental Health Court program and release from custody, Judge Cliff Cretan placed him on five years supervised probation and one year jail with credit for 187 days.

Under the law, a probation violation can reinstate the original sentence carried by a conviction even if a negotiated plea brought a lesser term. Whether prosecutors push for a stringent sentence will depend in part on the facts of the alleged attack on his family and the nature of the other violations, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

Cho and accomplice Martin Villa Patino, 19, were both charged with aiding and abetting after pushing Josue Orozco, then 17, over a wall surrounding an outside recreation yard at the Youth Services Center on Paul Scannell Drive in unincorporated San Mateo County. Orozco, awaiting trial for the murder of a 21-year-old Redwood City man, pulled himself over the wall using a halogen light set below the 15-foot minimum and slipped through a three-foot hole previously cut in the perimeter fence.

The escape set off a hunt for Orozco, a trio of investigations into the facility’s security and the county’s response and led to criminal convictions for both Cho and Patino. Patino was also charged with acting to further the Sureño gang of which both he and Orozco belonged.

Cho and Patino were at the juvenile hall instead of the adult Maguire Correctional Center in downtown Redwood City because they were finishing juvenile sentences on unrelated charges. Patino, who was transferred to the jail after turning 18, received two years prison for the escape ...and an unrelated assault on a correctional officer while awaiting trial.

Orozco, who when arrested in 2005 at age 14 became the youngest murder defendant charged as an adult in San Mateo county, remained at large from the time of his Feb. 14, 2008 escape until that September when apprehended on suspicion of home burglaries in San Antonio, Texas.

Okay. Let's look at Cho first. He helps a murder suspect escape from detention and gets probation ...which time he uses to allegedly beat up his mother and his aunt. Great call by Judge Cliff Cretan. What does a kid have to do in California to actually go to jail?

That's it for our first blog post. A word about formatting. Instead of spending hours trying to defeat the formatting of news organizations, I go with the paragraph spacing they used. It saves time. Maybe if I get advertising I will try harder. Don't count on it.

Now I gotta get out of here. I will post again when and if there is news. After all, people don't escape from prison every day, do they?

I couldn't delete this ad. Oh well. Sorry there wasn't more payoff for you.