By Brad Pedersen
The Leader Times
KITTANING, Pa. — The Armstrong County Jail failed to drug test an inmate accused of escaping and murdering a Rayburn woman in July even though he admitted to police that he used heroin the day of his arrest.
The finding comes from an Armstrong County District Attorney’s Office investigation of the events leading up to the July 30 escape of Robert Crissman Jr. He is accused of killing Tammy Long and stealing her boyfriend’s truck the same day he escaped.
The DA’s report also criticizes the jail for not offering a detox program for opiate addiction, failing to document symptoms of withdrawal and permitting Crissman to participate in the trusty program within a week of being committed to the jail.
The report, one of two focusing on the escape, was released Monday afternoon. It was compiled by Assistant District Attorney Kathleen Charlton and several detectives.
They interviewed county officials, counselors, probation and correction officers and inmates.
The report points to “a series of missteps” leading up to Crissman’s escape, which came a week after he was committed to the jail on a his fourth parole violation.
According to the report, Crissman was taken into custody July 23 after he missed two appointments with his parole officer, failed to find a job and admitted to using drugs.
Police found him the morning of his arrest asleep on his couch. He admitted to officers that he used heroin earlier, according to the report.
On his ride to the Armstrong County Jail that morning, a probation officer told Crissman that he planned to recommend he be transferred to a state prison so he could receive addiction treatment, according to the report.
The district attorney’s office could not find any documents on Crissman’s medical condition after he had been committed to the jail.
However, although a cellmate who was not identified, said Crissman showed signs of being “drug sick,” including accidental bowel movements and several vomiting spells.
Crissman, who was lethargic, also told his cellmates he was in jail because he had relapsed, according to the report.
Crissman did not receive a drug test when he was booked at the jail, nor was he given a 72-hour period to come down from the drugs he had taken before he was committed.
He met with a counselor and explained he had relapsed on heroin and used the drug two to four times per day.
He requested to be put on the work release program, but did not receive a response, and put in a second request on July 27.
The work release coordinator, who is not named in the report, reviewed Crissman’s requests and noted he had been in the program before, and had no prior misconduct issues.
He considered Crissman to be a good candidate for the program because they had had “no problems” with him before, and that corrections officers “get along with him well,” according to the report.
The work release coordinator told investigators that he was not aware of Crissman’s history of drug abuse and “no one seemed to see any issue of him suffering through withdrawal.”
Crissman was placed on the jail’s trusty program on July 29, and did two shifts of tray duty, despite his cellmates noting that he was going through withdrawals and looked “dope sick,” according to the report.
The day of the escape, Crissman volunteered to participate in the 6:15 a.m. shift to bring trays into the jail’s cafeteria.
The report indicates he took his cellmate’s shoes, without permission, before starting his shift.
The jail permitted inmates in the trusty program to bring shoes to wear during their shift, instead of the clogs issued by the jail, according to the report.
One of the three corrections officers supervising the three inmates bringing in trays noted to investigators that Crissman appeared pale and sick, but Crissman did not say a word during their duty.
“Many inmates have a difficult time waking up early to do breakfast trays and it appeared to the corrections officer that Crissman was not a morning person,” investigators wrote.
The inmates walked down a hallway with four secured doors to bring in the trays, without corrections officers escorting them.
Instead, they were being monitored by security cameras. Crissman was last seen on camera at 6:27 a.m., but only one corrections officer was monitoring the jail’s security cameras.
A little more than a minute later, one of the inmates told guards that Crissman had run off across the jail’s shooting range, according to the report.
One of the corrections officers supervising the trusties on tray duty told investigators he had been told to check on Crissman, but had not been told he had run away.
A female jail lieutenant, who is not named, and work release coordinator attempted to track Crissman, but were unsuccessful. According to the report, the lieutenant attempted to call Warden David Hogue, who had not yet come into his shift, but was unable to reach him.
The report indicates a lack of guards and no policies about trusty inmates working outside of the jail may have also contributed to Crissman’s escape.
During the shift Crissman had escaped, the jail had eight guards on duty, when all others typically have 10, according to the report.
“Many, if not all, of the 12-8 shift Corrections officers indicated that they needed more officers scheduled to work,” investigators wrote. “They consider eight working to be a safety hazard, particularly from 6 to 8 a.m., when there is a lot of activity going on.”
The officers also told investigators that training is a concern, and they rarely perform drills.
They also noted that new officers are usually working with other new officers, instead of those with experience.
Investigators also indicated the jail does not have any policies dictating how to handle trusty inmates working outside of the jail — although officials had been using them for jobs throughout the county since 2003.
The report also criticizes the jail for not having a clear set of rules dictating how trusty inmates are chosen. It has no written policies for inmates working on tray duty or their supervision.
Jail board investigates, too
John Bechtol, the county jail board’s solicitor, said the six-person board still is reviewing the district attorney’s report. He said he is unsure if it will be discussed publicly at the board’s next meeting.
“It’s a little early to comment or indicate which way the board may be leaning,” Bechtol said Monday afternoon. “There’s plenty to examine in this report.”
Crissman is being held in the Butler County jail and is awaiting a formal arraignment on charges of criminal homicide, first-degree murder, robbery of a motor vehicle, aggravated assault, theft, receiving stolen property and escape from jail.