5 prisoners escape Ark. jail

The Associated Press

TEXARKANA, Ark. — Five men cut through bars to escape Tuesday night from the Miller County jail, the latest in a string of problems for the troubled facility.

Chief Deputy Tommy Hollin said Wednesday that initial reports had two prisoners missing that actually weren't, as one man was simply in another part of the jail and another had was being held in Hempstead County. However, the jail actually was missing one inmate not immediately named after the escape.

"They sawed the bars off up there in the cell," Hollin said. "Then, they went down the wall and over the fence."

Arkansas State Police, as well as police dogs, aided in the search Tuesday night.

Hollin said deputies captured escapee Jeffrey Dean Smith, 36, of Texarkana, Texas, in a Wednesday morning arrest. Hollin identified the escapees still missing as Codarrius Morris, 20, of Texarkana, Ark.; Bennie Ray Johnson, 23, of Bradley, Ark.; Kenneth Dewayne Riley, 40, of Wilton, Ark.; and Anthony Michael Brown, 30, hometown not immediately known.

Hollin said Wednesday he could not immediately provide additional information, including the charges on which the men were being jailed.

Tuesday's escape is the latest problem at the Miller County jail. Sheriff Linda Rambo was chastised for not quickly alerting the public of a Feb. 18 escape of two other prisoners.

In some parts of the jail, Plexiglas walls are all that separate the incarcerated from common hallways. Much of it has had to be replaced or repaired because inmates have shattered it. Door hinges can be taken apart — meaning inmates can disassemble the hinges and simply walk into restricted areas.

In one area of the jail, cells with walls made of sheet metal can be dismantled if an inmate manages to smuggle a screwdriver inside.