By Mark Price
The Charlotte Observer
CHESTERFIELD, S.C. — An ingenious inmate needed only a pencil to open his cell and escape from jail, according to investigators in South Carolina.
The escape happened just before 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Chesterfield County Detention Center, and the inmate was recaptured within about 30 minutes, the Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office says.
Charles Alexander Dieterich, of New York, was being held for extradition to North Carolina on a 10-count warrant out of Wadesboro, records show.
“Preliminary information indicates Dieterich manipulated the cell door by lifting the door enough to place a pencil into the locking mechanism, allowing him to slide the door open,” the sheriff’s office said in a Sept. 2 Facebook post.
“Dieterich then traveled through the kitchen area of the detention center and exited through an unlocked door. This door is routinely used by jail trustees assigned to kitchen duties. ... After exiting the building, Dieterich entered a secured area surrounded by fencing and barbed wire. Dieterich scaled the fence and barbed wire, sustaining cuts.”
The escape was discovered around 4:40 p.m. when staff found a door ajar. Dieterich managed to get just over a mile north of the jail when deputies found him along Jones Road, officials said.
“While deputies attempted to detain the male subject, he assaulted a deputy before being taken into custody,” the sheriff’s office said.
“Following positive identification, Dieterich was transported to McLeod Health Cheraw for treatment of injuries sustained while climbing over the barbed wire fence. Dieterich was later medically cleared and transported back to the Chesterfield County Detention Center .”
New security measures are being implemented at the B-Work Camp where 30-year-old Dieterich was being held, including an additional guard at the door, officials said.
He was originally arrested in June on charges of possession, concealment, sale, or disposal of a stolen vehicle, and manufacture/possession of a Schedule I, II, or III controlled substances with intent to distribute, officials said.
“Dieterich pleaded guilty to those charges on August 13 ... and was sentenced to time served,” the sheriff’s office said.
“Dieterich remained in custody ... due to an active hold for charges in North Carolina. At the time of his escape, a waiver of extradition had not been signed due to Dieterich refusing to do so.”
The jail is near the city of Chesterfield, about a 60-mile drive southeast from uptown Charlotte.
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