Prisoner runs away from Tri- County Jail
The inmate was with two others, hauling trash to a dumpster Thursday after dinner, when a gust blew something off the load.
A nearby guard at the Tri-County Regional Jail in Mechanicsburg motioned for someone to retrieve it.
Staling Santos-Reyes, an inmate since Feb. 7, literally jumped at the chance, sprinting toward the debris, then passing it and leaping onto and over an 8-foot fence topped with barbed wire.
Santos-Reyes’ escape is the first in 16 years from the jail that serves Madison, Champaign and Union counties. A few others have failed to return from off-site work details, but never from within. The jail houses 137 inmates, about 23 below its capacity.
“It definitely was unexpected,” said Scott Springhetti, the jail’s executive director. “Something like this shouldn’t happen.”
The guard noticed what his prisoner was doing within seconds, but could not outrun him.
Santos-Reyes, 40, of New York City, was charged with drug possession and possession of criminal tools this year after the State Highway Patrol stopped him for erratic driving in Madison County. Inside his vehicle they found several bricks of heroin, en route to the East Coast.
He was being held on a $300,000 bond.
Santos-Reyes was a quiet prisoner, Springhetti said. “We had nothing to indicate he was violent or dangerous.”
Still, neighboring communities were notified and a nationwide warrant issued for his capture.
He was last seen wearing an orange prison uniform, plastic Crocsstyle shoes and white underclothes.
Springhetti said an investigation is ongoing. “We’re going to review every single facet and protocol and all of our procedures.”