By Nita Birmingham
The Post and Courier
ST. GEORGE, S.C. — The Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office is investigating what one major called a breakdown in procedure that allowed an inmate to escape from jail Monday night.
Officials said the inmate crawled through a ceiling and peeled back metal siding before finding freedom.
Adam Lee Longa, 28, was in jail on charges of first-degree burglary, possession of a stolen motor vehicle and resisting arrest, 1st Sgt. Mike Miller said.
Longa is the first prisoner to escape the St. George jail in nearly 11 years, Maj. Mike Turner said.
“Obviously, we are concerned,” he said. “Something broke down.”
Turner said he does not believe Longa had inside help escaping.
Miller said Longa had been in a meeting with other inmates and hid in a break room when everyone else left. He would not have been handcuffed. Prisoners inside the jail are handcuffed only if they are going to be transported outside of the building, Turner said.
Longa crawled through the ceiling leading to an area of a building where he peeled back some metal siding and left the building, Miller said. Once outside, he got to the roof and escaped.
Longa called a female friend once he was free, Miller said.
Longa is believed to have escaped around 10:30 p.m. Within 12 minutes he had shed his black and white striped uniform and been picked up by the friend, Miller said. A St. George police officer stopped their car - Miller said he believed they were stopped for speeding - but at that time no lookout had been broadcast for Longa. The officer wrote the woman a ticket and let her go, Miller said.
The St. George police chief did not return a phone call for comment Tuesday. Sheriff’s deputies found Longa’s discarded prison uniform on U.S. Highway 78, a short distance from where the traffic stop was made by St. George police, Turner said.
No charges had been filed against Longa’s female friend as of Tuesday afternoon.
“We are in contact with her and trying to determine what her level of culpability was,” Turner said.
Copyright 2007 The Post and Courier