Iowa inmate squeezes through 14x8-inch food slot in attempted jail escape

The Sac County Jail inmate pulled a jail deputy’s arm earlier in the day, then later squeezed through the pass-through door and chased her before deputies intervened

June 11, 2025 05:26 PM

By Nick Hytrek
Sioux City Journal, Iowa

SAC CITY, Iowa — A Sac County Jail inmate who crawled through a pass-through door in his jail cell recently was apprehended before he was able to escape from the building.

After chasing a jailer into the booking area, Artis Karazins was subdued by two sheriff’s deputies, handcuffed and taken to a local hospital for evaluation, Sac County Sheriff Ken McClure said in a news release.

McClure said his staff followed protocol, preventing Karazins from escaping the building, and the presence of deputies in the building likely prevented further injury to the jailer.

Karazins, 36, of Lake View, Iowa, was booked into the jail on May 31 on two counts of second-degree criminal mischief and one count of leaving the scene of an accident.

On Wednesday, McClure said, Karazins was in the center holding cell when at approximately 3 p.m., a jailer opened the food pass-through door on his cell to hand him some paperwork. McClure said video showed Karazins grab the jailer’s arm and pulling her into the cell door before releasing his grip. The jailer’s arm was bruised.

Later that evening while serving meals, the same jailer looked through Karazins’ cell window to see where he was before serving him food. McClure said video showed Karazins lying naked on his bunk. When the jailer opened the pass-through door to hand in the food tray, Karazins ran from his bunk and got his head and a shoulder through the pass-through door, which measures 14 inches wide by 8 inches high. As the jailer called for help, Karazins crawled out of the pass-through door before deputies could get to the cell unit. Karazins chased the jailer down the steps to the booking area, where deputies confronted him and took him into custody after an altercation.

After his release from the hospital the following morning, Karazins was transported to the Woodbury County Jail, where he remains in custody.

McClure said the incident is a reminder of the need to replace Sac County’s jail, which was built in 1939 and no longer meets modern requirements.

A $10.95 million bond issue that would have provided funds to replace the jail received 58.8% voter approval in November, but was just short of the 60% needed to pass.

“For at least five or six years, our jail inspector has commented that our jail is a safety risk to inmates, staff and the public,” McClure said prior to the election.

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