Year later, questions linger in daring jailbreak

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(Greg Whitesell/Examiner)
Corrections officers stand by the entrance to the D.C. Jail, the site of a jailbreak last June.

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - The escape of two dangerous inmates from the District of Columbia Jail last June raised disturbing questions about incompetence and corruption in an agency assigned to protect the public from criminals. One year later, those questions remain unanswered.

“To this day, I don’t know who did it, how it happened, or why,” said Neil Glick, the advisory neighborhood commissioner for the Hill East neighborhood that borders the jail. “I don’t remember seeing a letter from any city agency explaining what’s been done to protect the neighborhood.”

Ricardo Jones and Joseph “Poindexter” Leaks broke out of the jail on June 3, 2006 — allegedly with the help of the people who were supposed to guard them.

According to jail records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, 21 inmates have escaped from the jail since 2000.

That figure doesn’t include inmates mistakenly freed — five in the past six months — or inmates whose escapes were blamed on other agencies.

Jail officials haven’t helped their cause by operating in secrecy and misleading the public. In April, spokeswoman Beverly Young admitted to the Legal Times newspaper that she had put out “misinformation” on an inmate who hanged herself while she was supposed to be under constant supervision.

District Council Member Phil Mendelson, D-at large, is the chair of the Judiciary Committee. He said he is concerned about the jail’s poor reputation, but he thinks Director Devon Brown has done a good job overhauling the system.

Brown was on the job only a few months when the jailbreak occurred.

“The jailbreak was an extraordinary situation. And the concern we have to have is the likelihood of it recurring,” Mendelson said. “While there are no guarantees, I think the risk has diminished.”

But Mendelson also said he is “perturbed” that the U.S. Attorney’s Office hasn’t wrapped up its investigation.

Leaks confessed to the escape almost immediately after his capture, according to internal documents obtained by The Examiner. He implicated two corrections officers — Lachonne Stewart and Herbert Douglas — in the escape.

But according to internal documents, key evidence has gone missing, including sections of a surveillance tape. A law enforcement source said that Leaks’ confession and testimony might not be enough to sustain charges against veteran corrections officers.

Through their lawyer, Douglas and Stewart have denied the accusations against them. The lawyer, J. Michael Hannon, has said in court documents that his clients have been made the scapegoats of an incompetent bureaucracy that let conditions in the jail deteriorate to the point that an escape was inevitable.

While Glick said he sympathizes with the corrections officers, he emphasized that the allegations against them have to be taken seriously.

Glick said he will tour the jail next week with other city officials. He said he hopes he can get some answers then.

“To this day, we have these fiefdoms in the city government putting responsibility on each other,” he said. “We’re your neighbors. Keep us informed.”

Scapegoats or silent partners?

Eleven D.C. Jail officers were disciplined after the June 3, 2006 escape of Joseph “Poindexter” Leaks and Ricardo Jones. All have been suspended and are suing to be reinstated. Here are the names, years of service and allegations against some of the key figures in the scandal:

» Lachonne Stewart, 24 years: Accused of hiding jumpsuits and officers’ clothes that Jones and Leaks used in their escape

» Cpl. Herbert Douglas, 15 years: Allegedly left Leaks unsupervised while he and Jones made their escape

» Alphonso Bryant, 23 years: Allegedly approved Leaks for work detail » Malcom Pointer, 24 years: Allegedly downgraded Leaks’ risk classification without reviewing his record

» Shantell Hatton, 12 years: Allegedly gave Jones a pass to the infirmary

» Lowanda Hinton-Saunders, 13 years: Allegedly let Jones and Leaks pass back through the administrative suite just before their escape

bmyers@dcexaminer.com

SEE THE LATEST ON THIS STORY

EMAIL STORY

PRINT STORY

375 days ago: Romance is the story of dance

403 days ago: Young Korean-Americans moving up and on

403 days ago: Korean community driven by success

438 days ago: Extreme Baltimore

453 days ago: Two women’s struggles

456 days ago: Failing the kids

460 days ago: The story behind the D.C. jailbreak

» 460 days ago: Year later, questions linger in daring jailbreak «

473 days ago: Growth taxing local water supplies

480 days ago: Clem Florio: Still riding high after all these years