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| Arkansas convict made escape wearing officer's clothes |
| By Arkansas Democrat-Gazette |
| Published: 03/12/2001 |
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James Stickley, 35, escaped from prison by disguising himself as an officer and walking out through the main gate, prison officials said recently. Stickley even pretended to clock out along the way. The fugitive, a habitual offender serving a 55-year sentence for aggravated robbery at the Wrightsville Unit in Little Rock, was a free man for 20 hours -- until an off-duty officer noticed him walking down Base Line Road in Little Rock on the afternoon of February 28. The inmate had gone to a 6 p.m. chapel service and was last seen by an officer at 6:30 p.m., prison spokesman Dina Tyler said. Investigators began piecing together how Stickley escaped after a field officer reporting for duty on the morning of February 28 discovered that some of his clothing was missing, Tyler said. Field officers supervise the inmate crews doing farm work or other outdoor labor. Because they do this from horseback in all kinds of weather, these officers usually put on coveralls and other protective clothing, which are stored in a locked office at the unit, Tyler said. Missing that day was a pair of coveralls. 'We began searching that office from top to bottom, and stuffed under the couch we found Stickley's jacket and inmate shirt,' she added. 'We also determined that not only were the coveralls missing, but an officer's jacket, a rain slicker, gloves and a [hat].' It appears Stickley broke into the office through a window, Tyler said. Investigators learned that Stickley dressed up as a field officer and walked into the 'entry building,' a place through which everyone entering or leaving the prison must pass. Policy states all visitors must sign in here and if any employees aren't known to the officer, they must be asked to show a photo ID card issued by the Correction Department. Stickley sailed through with no problem, Tyler said. After leaving the entry building, he paused when he reached the gate, pretending to use the employee time clock. Stickley was buzzed through the gate by the entry officer and he then headed to the parking lot in the midst of a heavy rain, Tyler said. 'Meanwhile, the tower officer sees the inmate dressed as an officer and he calls the entry building because he sees the person running. It was raining, but for some reason, he didn't like what he saw. He called back to the officer in the entry building and the officer said, 'He works in the infirmary and he's OK,' ' Tyler said. 'And off he went.' Prison officials said they don't know why the entry officer claimed to know Stickley. Maybe it was a matter of being too lazy to check, Tyler said. But, she added, as soon as the tower officer raised the question, the mysterious 'employee' should have been stopped and asked to produce identification, especially since the person was leaving well after a normal shift had ended, Tyler said. 'This appears to have been, at this point, employee error,' Tyler said. The investigation is ongoing, and it hasn't been determined whether the entry officer or any other officers will be disciplined or fired, Tyler said. |
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