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PINE BLUFF, Ark. (AP) — One prison staffer has been fired and another was suspended without pay after an investigation showed complacency among Arkansas Department of Correction employees led to the escape of an inmate who was previously convicted of killing a teenage girl and stuffing her body in a barrel, authorities said Monday.
Several staff mistakes led to the June 13 escape of 40-year-old Lloyd Jones from the East Arkansas Unit, Arkansas Department of Correction Director Wendy Kelley said. Jones was on the run for three days before he was captured less than a mile from the unit's warden's house in Brickeys, about 120 miles east of Little Rock.
"Unfortunately the escape was the result of complacency by some of the staff," Kelley said, noting that rules require the guards to keep all inmates in eyesight when they are on work detail. "Disciplinary action is being taken on the staff for failure to follow policies according to their level of responsibility."
Kelley described the events leading up to the escape, saying that two guards and two construction officers were with a group of 16 inmates as they went to a work site near the East Arkansas Unit. One of the guards took an inmate from the crew to a medical appointment, and the construction supervisors took two other inmates to install butane bottles at a different location.
That left one guard watching 13 inmates who were eating lunch. Four inmates finished early and asked to go back to work, which the guard incorrectly allowed, though he tried to keep an eye on them and the nine others still eating lunch, Kelley said. At least one of the four inmates working slipped under the trailer to help with a soldering task, and Jones made his escape, Kelley said.
When the guard did a headcount, he realized Jones was missing. Kelley said the guard also faces possible disciplinary action, but that will not be made public at this time because he is allowed an appeal process under department rules.
As a result, Kelley said, wardens will be required to individually review work details for inmates in certain classifications, which are based on their crimes, behavior while incarcerated and other factors. She said there will be few exceptions where one prison guard is allowed to supervise an entire work crew, and a committee will look at the job duties for certain staff assignments to make sure the responsibilities are clearly outlined.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson directed the department last week to conduct a full investigation and review of internal policies related to the conditions that led to the escape. Hutchinson spokesman J.R. Davis said the governor spoke with Kelley earlier Monday and was satisfied with the investigation.
Kelley said escape charges had not been filed against Jones as of Monday, but he has been moved to another maximum security unit. She said Jones will not be eligible for the same kind of work detail in the future.
Jones' previous classification made him eligible to work unshackled outside of the prison as long as there were armed guards, she said. He was serving a 60-year-sentence after he admitted killing 16-year-old Angela Allen in 2012 and stuffing her body in a barrel later found buried on his brother's property.
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