Escapee believed to have used tools brought by drone
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina inmate broke out of a maximumsecurity prison using wire cutters that were apparently flown in by drone, officials said Friday, describing a new and devilishly hard-to-stop means of escape.
Convicted kidnapper Jimmy Causey, 46, was recaptured at a Texas motel before daybreak Friday, more than two days after bolting to freedom from Lieber Correctional Institution near Charleston in a plot worthy of a Hollywood script. It was the second time in 12 years that he escaped.
This time, he used a smuggled-in cell phone to coordinate the delivery of the breakout tools, investigators said. Then, with dusk approaching on the Fourth of July, he cut through four fences and left a dummy in his bed that fooled his guards. He got an 18-hour head start.
When he was caught, he had about $47,000 in cash, an ID card and two guns, authorities said.
“We believe a drone was used to fly in the tools that allowed him to escape,” South Carolina Corrections Director Bryan Stirling said.
Kevin Tamez, a 30-year law enforcement veteran who consults on prison security, said he wasn’t aware of any other U.S. prison escapes aided by drones.
Tamez said that delivering something heavy such as wire or bolt cutters via drone would require a sophisticated plan and a powerful machine.
“They have to land for you to get the contraband off of them,” he said. “They can’t drop it like a bomb.”
Tamez said there is no easy way for prisons to protect against the use of small, unmanned aircraft, other than hiring more guards to watch the fences.
A tip led Texas Rangers to a motel room in Austin where Causey was found sleeping around 4 a.m. Friday, authorities said.