By Margaret Matray
The Virginian-Pilot
PORTSMOUTH, Va. — A work release inmate didn’t return to his jail housing Thursday night, but a Sheriff’s Office spokesman said they don’t believe he was trying to escape.
When deputies called Michael James Bell after he didn’t show up at the work center, he answered the phone and told them where he was, Lt. Col. Marvin Waters said Friday.
“He didn’t try to dodge or run,” Waters said.
Bell was back in custody within a few hours after deputies noticed he hadn’t returned, he said. The Sheriff’s Office is investigating to figure out what happened. Bell has been suspended from the work release program until an internal review is completed, Waters said. He’ll be housed at the Portsmouth City Jail.
“There was no risk to the public at all,” Waters said. “It was … over in a matter of hours.”
Waters said Bell, 43, has been incarcerated at the work center for about six months on a larceny charge and probation violation. Bell works for a construction contractor and did not return to the work center Thursday night after his shift, Waters said.
Work center deputies called his employer within 30 minutes after Bell didn’t show up and eventually reached Bell, he said. Waters said he couldn’t say where deputies picked up Bell, but he was taken back into custody and was being interviewed Friday morning about what happened. Bell also received a medical evaluation, which Waters said is standard.
The Sheriff’s Office work center houses 21 inmates who are screened by the Department of Corrections and must meet certain qualifications. The inmates either participate in work crews under the watch of deputies or, like Bell, are on unsupervised work release, in which they work jobs out in the community, Waters said.
Inmates on unsupervised work release typically are dropped off and picked up from their jobs by deputies or their employer, Waters said. He said he did not know how Bell usually got to and from work.
Waters said the Sheriff’s Office is reevaluating its programs and talking with employers to ensure they know the rules of work release and keep information about inmates’ work locations up to date.