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| Jail procedures under review after escape |
| By coshoctontribune.com - Carl Burnett Jr. |
| Published: 02/22/2012 |
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LANCASTER, OH -- The Fairfield County Sheriff's Office is investigating and reviewing procedures to see how a registered sex offender escaped Tuesday from the Fairfield County Jail Annex. "We've begun a comprehensive review of the procedures and policies at the new annex," said Chief Deputy Jerry Perrigo. "We had two deputies covering 90 prisoners being housed at the annex that night. We are going to have to look at what happened, staffing and procedures." Fairfield County Sheriff's Lt. Tim Voris said Jeremiah Searles, 31, of Missouri, was discovered missing during an 11:30 p.m. bed check. "We believe he used articles of clothing to climb over the fence and razor wire to make his escape," Voris said. Dogs tracked him to a gully behind the jail, but lost track of him there. Police searched all day Tuesday, but hadn't located him by press time. Police said he should be considered dangerous. Searles was serving a 30-day sentence for several local misdemeanors, but also is wanted for violating probation on a felony sex charge in Missouri. Fairfield County Prosecutor Gregg Marx said Searles also is wanted in Missouri on a charge of absconding, which is similar to Ohio's escape charge. The jail annex opened in November and is designed to house 92 prisoners. The new jail is one of three operated by the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office. One of the other jails, located at 221 E. Main St., was built in 1966 and houses felony suspects and dangerous prisoners. When the Jail Annex opened in November, Fairfield County Sheriff Dave Phalen said it would house mainly minimum-security prisoners. The most dangerous prisoners are housed in the felony jail on Main Street. Whether or not Searles should have been housed in the annex will be reconsidered, Perrigo said. "We had him for misdemeanors in Fairfield County, but did someone miss that there where active warrants out of Missouri for him? We don't know yet," Perrigo said. "It will be part of the review." This was not the first time Searles has eluded law enforcement officers. Marx said Searles has warrants out from Missouri for absconding and a probation violation on a deviate sexual assault charge. Now charges also have been filed locally for escape, a third-degree felony. According to the Missouri Department of Corrections' website, Searles was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the sex crime and other charges, but apparently served only six years for the sex crime. The terms of his probation were not immediately available. Read More. |
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