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| County jailbreak thwarted |
| By Quincy Herald-Whig |
| Published: 03/08/2004 |
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Several Adams County (Ill.) Jail inmates were involved in an escape attempt two weeks ago involving the removal of glazed tile and bricks from an exterior wall, but authorities caught the inmates in the act. Adams County Sheriff Brent Fischer said five to six inmates were involved in the incident, which led to a section of the jail being evacuated and 15 inmates being released to relieve overcrowding in the 54-year old facility. The incident started Feb. 24 when a courthouse maintenance worker said he heard pounding noises coming from either Section 7 or Section 6. Fischer said the man became suspicious and reported the activity to corrections officers. Jail Administrator Tim Baker and several officers then entered Section 7 and found an inmate underneath a bunk bed pounding on exterior wall bricks with a metal rod, Fischer said. The rod was from a bunk bed in the jail. One glazed tile about a foot wide and several inches deep had been removed. Just behind the block, the exterior brick wall was being chipped at with the rod, Fischer said. Section 7 is on the third floor, and the area was near the northwest corner of the building, above the county clerk's office. Fischer said he did not know how long the inmates had been chipping at the bricks. The inmates were trying to knock a small hole in the exterior brick wall and lower a rope to bring in a hacksaw, Fischer said. The inmates were then going to use the hacksaw to cut off locks leading to a stairwell exit, and simply walk out of the jail and courthouse complex. Fischer said the area is checked every 30 minutes by officers, but the would-be escapees couldn't be seen by a check through an observation window. Several inmates were around the bunk, shielding the man doing the chipping, Fischer said. They had a dustpan and were cleaning up the debris from the mortar around the bricks and tile. Forty inmates were removed from the section after the incident was discovered, Fischer said. Three inmates were taken to the Department of Corrections and 15 more were released early to ease overcrowding. |
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