CLEBURNE COUNTY, Ark. – Authorities are conducting a manhunt for an inmate that walked off from the Cleburne County Jail, a release said Friday.
Just before midnight Thursday, a jail trustee, Jared West, 41, of Tumbling Shoals, took trash outside to the dumpster and didn’t return.
A search ensued and has been ongoing from that time, but he has not been located yet.
Friday afternoon, Sheriff Chris Brown issued a statement about the escaped inmate being part of the trustee program, after some criticism online.
Public statement about the escaped inmate
I know many people have questions and concerns about the inmate that escaped last night. While I can’t answer every individual question, I would like to make a statement on the program generally.
We look at a wide array of information before someone is selected for a trustee role. And in most instances, we start them out with small projects, always supervised, to see whether or not they could potentially work out as a trustee. Some make that cut, and some don’t. We don’t typically allow any of the trustees out after dark if they’re unsupervised, but there are occasions that do warrant them to be out. We’re still looking into all the details surrounding Inmate West leaving, but we are confident we will find him quickly and bring him back to jail. We are currently working with the US Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force, the 16th Drug Task Force, and Heber Springs PD to try and locate Inmate West.
One of the biggest challenges for jails is balancing this very thing: We have to try and balance keeping them locked up and away from society to prevent further harm from being done to the public, with the need and desire to help them rehabilitate and return to normal life in society. The goal of the Criminal Justice system is always to return people back into society as productive members of their communities; sometimes that’s possible, sometimes it’s not. The trustee program for us has been a way to help some of the inmates start that process of returning to society with the possibility of not reoffending, and for some, that has been a successful endeavor. Programs like the trustee program and the community service (work release) program are beneficial, not only for those select inmates, but also for the county. Trustees cook, clean, help do maintenance, and other tasks around the Jail and Sheriff’s Office, as well as picking up trash, and helping with other projects around the county.
We are constantly reviewing and adjusting the trustee program, and its parameters, and will be doing a complete reevaluation of the program as a result of this incident to see where we can improve going forward.
At the end of the day, I am responsible for every employee and every inmate here. As a result, I bear the responsibility for West escaping, but we have a great team of employees who are working as hard as they can to bring him back to answer for these crimes.
-Sheriff Chris Brown
On Wednesday, the sheriff announced the man’s capture.
Escapee captured, female arrested for assisting in escape
On April 24, at approximately 2:35pm multiple agencies CAPTURED escapee Jared West. US Marshals, ADC dog teams from Calico Rock and Tucker, Cleburne County Sheriff’s Office, Faulkner County Sheriff’s Office, White County Sheriff’s Office, Independence County Sheriff’s Office, and the State Police have been tracking and attempting to capture Inmate West since Friday. After a lengthy chase today, Inmate West was finally taken back into custody off Highway 89 in Faulkner County, and is currently being transported back to the Cleburne County Jail to face multiple additional charges.
On Saturday April 20, several of the above mentioned agencies got into a foot chase and dog track with Inmate West that went from White County into Independence County. While he eventually was not located, Clarissa Stair (31 of Heber Springs), was arrested and charged with Hindering Apprehension and Furnishing Implement for Escape for assisting in Inmate West’s escape. She is currently being held at the White County Detention Center on a $75,000 bond.
We would like to say thank you to all the agencies that helped to bring Inmate West back into custody to answer for his crimes.
Several changes have already been implemented into the Trustee Program as a result of this incident, and we will continue to review the program as we move forward.
All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
-Sheriff Chris Brown
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