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5 inmates escape from Ohio correctional center

The men broke out of a first-floor window of a community-based adult correctional facility housing felony prisoners

Inmate escape.JPG

The five inmates who escaped from a Canton correctional facility are pictured here. Top row: Jaden Miller and Michael Fisher; bottom row: Joshua Bingham, Jason Drake and Vincent Blanc.

Photos/Stark County Jail

By Lori Steineck
The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

CANTON, Ohio — Five inmates escaped from the Stark County Regional Community Correction Center after breaking out a first-floor window, according to Canton Police reports.

All of them remained at large on Wednesday, according to Lt. Dennis Garren, Canton Police spokesman.

The escape occurred between 8:45 p.m. Monday and 10 a.m. Tuesday at the center at 4433 Lesh Road NE.

A woman answering the phone to the facility on Wednesday said the Director Craig Prysock was out of town and could not be reached for comment.

The police report shows the incident was reported to city police at 10:13 a.m. Tuesday.

The community-based adult correctional facility houses felony prisoners sentenced there through Stark, Wayne, Holmes and Tuscarawas courts, according to Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections website. A DOC spokeswoman said DOC does not oversee the facility.

SRCCC serves as an alternative (or additional measure) to prison for eligible (lower level) felons.

Clients there can get treatment or drug and alcohol issues and counseling, giving them the opportunity to become more productive and self-sufficient. They often begin a months-long term in lockdown and gradually earn more freedoms, including permission to leave the site to work.

Police say those who escaped include: Michael Fisher, 29, listed as homeless; Jason Drake, 39, of Waynesburg; Jaden Miller, 23, of Carrollton; Vincent Blanc, 24, of Canton; and Joshua Bingham, 36, of the North Canton area.

Felony warrants have been issued for the arrests of the men, who are wanted charges of escape and vandalism.

The men had been confined as part of their sentencing stemming from convictions on various felonies.

According to Stark County court records, the men “used padlocks attached to their belts or padlocks in socks to damage a bedroom window belonging to SRCCC, to facilitate their escape.”

Fisher has been in the facility since Dec. 30 convicted of aggravated drug possession, according to court records.

Drake has been housed at the SRCCC facility since Nov. 20. He was sentenced to intensive supervisory probation and three years of community control for burglary.

Miller was arrested in August when he was caught driving through Canton with loaded guns and ammunition. He was convicted of having weapons under disability and improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle. He has been in the SRCCC facility since Jan. 16.

Blanc was convicted in October of aggravated menacing and attempted cocaine possession, and sentenced to 180 days in jail. That sentence was suspended on Jan. 20. Information as to how long he has been in the SRCCC facility was not available on Wednesday.

Bingham was convicted of aggravated drug possession again when police found him with methamphetamine in August and sentenced into the SRCCC facility on Dec. 20.

Garren asked that anyone with information about the men’s whereabouts to call police at 330-649-5800 or the city’s TIP411 line, available on the city’s website at cantonohio.gov/police.

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