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| Did inmates have inside help with botched prison escape? |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 03/08/2004 |
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Investigators are looking into whether a civilian food-service worker is linked to a botched escape attempt that led to a 15-day hostage siege at the state prison in Buckeye, Arizona. The unidentified man reportedly was one of two food-service workers assigned to the Morey Unit kitchen area at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Lewis on Jan. 18, when inmates Ricky Wassenaar and Steven Coy overpowered the other worker and two corrections guard. "There were only the two employees scheduled for duty that morning and when he didn't show up, inmate Ricky Wassenaar began asking in particular where he was," former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods, co-chairman of an investigative panel reviewing the hostage situation, said Monday. "There is certainly suspicious circumstances surrounding this employee." Authorities said the employee in question left the food service company assigned to the prison shortly after the standoff began and thus far has refused to cooperate in the subsequent investigation. "By refusing to cooperate with authorities, he is impeding an investigation," said state Corrections Department Director Dora Schriro, who wouldn't speculate on the worker's possible ties to Wassenaar. A Maricopa County grand jury returned a 25-count indictment against Wassenaar and Coy on Feb. 20. But the two inmates pleaded innocent to kidnapping, assault and other charges stemming from the standoff, one of the longest in U.S. history. Wassenaar also faces a charge of attempted murder, and Coy is accused of sexually assaulting a kitchen worker and a female guard. The two inmates allegedly planned to get weapons from the prison tower for an escape attempt. They released a male guard on Jan. 24. The female officer was released Feb. 1, when Coy and Wassenaar surrendered to authorities. |
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