Bertha Small had no idea Damien Evans was hiding out in a closet insideher home when deputies found him. Small was sleeping at the time. Nowthat Evans is back in jail the sheriff's office is taking the heat butalso part of the blame.
A jailer was supposed to get Darius Evans, but instead brought DamienEvans, who faces kidnapping, armed robbery and drug charges.
Sheriff "Moose" Butler admits the escape was a mistake on his office'spart. Now corrective measures are being taken.
Part of the problem may be that the jail is overcrowded. It's onlysupposed to house 288 inmates, but at times there can be as many as 400.
"You've got them living on top of each other," Butler says. "You'll haveproblems. They're figuring way they can do things to outsmart thejailers. We just have to be smarter, and we will be smarter."
No one wants to see that more than the residents of the county. They putfaith in the sheriff's office to keep all of the inmates locked up andbehind bars.
The sheriff's office has made changes in how it handles inmates. Anyonebeing discharged will be sent through the holding cell. And a fax machine will be installed so there's no mistake which inmate is to be released.
Butler says mistakes will happen with severe overcrowding. Right now, thejail has about 60 inmates sleeping on the floor.
On Tuesday, another prisoner escaped for several hours when he convincedjailers he was someone else. Brian Haywood walked out of the jail when hestood in for a sleeping inmate whose bond was posted.
For now a Lieutenant and a Cumberland County jailer are both on paidleave while the sheriff's office investigates.
andJacquelineWright
Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
