Smooth getaway: 12 escaped inmates fool prison guard with peanut butter
A dozen inmates in an Alabama correctional facility managed to escape thanks to a gullible new guard and… peanut butter. The newly hired guard had been watching them on closed circuit TV when the inmates pulled off a once-in-a-lifetime escape.
On Sunday at 6:20pm, the inmates smeared the peanut butter on numbers that identified an outside door, which, in turn, led the guard to open the wrong door while he was attempting to let them back into their cells. As a result, the inmates made their escape through the open door which leads to the outside of the jail.
"Changing numbers on doors with peanut butter – It may sound crazy, but these kinds of people are crazy like a fox," James Underwood, The Walker County Sheriff told a news conference, according to ABC News.
After escaping and ditching their orange uniforms, the inmates used towels to hop a razor wire fence and escaped from the jail. Underwood said that he estimates that it took about 10 minutes for the inmates to hop the fence.
All of the 12 escapees, except one, Bradley Andrew Kilpatrick, 24, who was initially jailed for marijuana possession and paraphernalia, were successfully recaptured by guards. Underwood said that the department is "working on some leads" to catch Kilpatrick, but could not elaborate, as it would jeopardize the investigation, Reuters reported.
Larry Inman Jr, 29, and Ethan Howard Pearl, 24, were both brought into custody by Birmingham Police and the Walker County Sheriff’s Department at a gas station a little more than ten minutes apart, Fox News reported.
Steven Blake Lamb, 28, Michael Adam McGuff, 30, Johnnie Richard Hunter, 26, Christopher Cole Spain, 18, Kristopher Keith Secrest, 20, Quadrekas Latoddrick Key, 21, Timothy Chaz Cooper, 28 and Steven Sanford Hartley, 27, were all recaptured as well. Lamb and McGuff are in jail for charges which include attempted murder.
At 4:21am, Christopher Smith, 19, was captured and taken back into custody. He is the latest to be caught., according to a facebook post by the Walker County Sheriff’s Office.
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"They took advantage of a young fellow that hadn't been here very long,” Underwood said, referring to the new guard who accidentally let the escapees free. The sheriff added that the guard was also tasked with monitoring 150 inmates at a time.
"You have to stay on your toes. This is one time we slipped up. I'm not going to make any excuses," Underwood said, ABC News reported.
The inmates "scheme all the time to con us and our employees at the jail." He says the inmates "went off in every direction," but everyone except Kilpatrick was captured with in eight hours.
The inmates had apparently saved peanut butter from the food that is regularly served at the jail. "They love peanut butter sandwiches," Underwood said, according to ABC News.
The sheriff said he hopes the last prisoner will be back in custody by morning.
