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LISBON — Three staff members were fired in the wake of the escape from the Columbiana County
LISBON — Three staff members were fired in the wake of the escape from the Columbiana County Jail on Aug. 17.
Their names were not released in a report Thursday by the county commissioners, who own the jail west of Lisbon. The workers were not county employees.
The commissioners lease the jail to Community Education Centers, a private company based in West Caldwell, N. J., that runs detention facilities and programs to help prisoners turn their lives around.
Four prisoners, William E. Merritt, Mark Foden, John Hamilton and Jason W. Hefner Sr., escaped from the jail between 8:30 and 9 p.m. They were recaptured the next day near Pittsburgh.
John Gilbert, CEC’s deputy director/secure facility division, wrote, “It is clear that staff complacency and physical plant vulnerabilities played a key role in the escape.”
The prisoners “used sheets, blankets, pillows, personal clothing and other personal items to craft human shape [sic] dummies on their beds, then covered them with sheets, creating the appearance of a body asleep in the bed,” Gilbert wrote.
Established policies and procedures for counting prisoners were not followed.
The report says that the 10:45 p.m. prisoner count will now be a “stand-up face-to-face count with verification that each inmate is in their cell.”
Sheriff’s officials initially thought the escape occurred later in the night.
The sheriff’s office is conducting its own investigation. Sheriff Raymond Stone could not be reached. He took office after the escape.
Former Sheriff David Smith said the lock on the maintenance door was smashed. The company’s report said the door was “manipulated.”
Peter Argeropulos, senior vice president for the CEC, said prisoners got into a maintenance closet and were able to access and move through a crawl space to eventually reach the roof. They dropped off the front of the jail, where there is no fence, and took off.
Argeropulos said the escapees were able to somehow release the hatch on the roof. New security measures have been taken to secure other hatches in the building, and some locks have been upgraded.
He said that he did not think a fence was needed at the front of the jail, which includes the coroner’s office.
No other firings are expected, he added.
The four men and the girlfriend of one of them who allegedly helped in the escape are facing charges.
Argeropulos said he planned to meet with Stone to discuss security issues.
Commissioner Jim Hoppel said the commissioners were obviously not pleased by the escape but believed the company was doing a good job.
wilkinson@vindy.com