RAYMOND, Miss. (AP) — One of two inmates who escaped from a Mississippi jail that is under federal scrutiny for poor security and management was captured hours later, while another remained on the loose, authorities said Tuesday.
Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones said Michael Lewis of Jackson and Joseph Spring of Byram, both 31, were missing during a head count Monday at the Raymond Detention Center.
Deputies captured Lewis about 6 miles (10 kilometers) away, and he will be charged with escape, Jones said. Lewis is jailed on charges of careless/reckless driving, receiving stolen property, no insurance, and driving under the influence.
A search continued Tuesday for Spring, who was jailed on charges including burglary of a dwelling and possession of a controlled substance.
Jones told WLBT-TV that Lewis and Spring escaped the jail through an air duct that they entered in the ceiling of a recreation room.
The latest breakouts happened weeks after four other inmates escaped the jail April 22 through breaches in a cell and the roof. One died after barricading himself in a central Mississippi home and setting it on fire during an armed standoff with deputies on April 26. He was suspected of killing a man and stealing his truck after the escape.
One of the four escaped inmates from April was found dead at a truck stop in New Orleans. One was captured in Texas, and one was captured in Mississippi.
U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves ordered a rare takeover of the jail last July after he said deficiencies in supervision and staffing led to “a stunning array of assaults, as well as deaths.” In December, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals put that order on hold at the county’s request.
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