UPDATE: James Fuller, has been captured. He was found about 1:35 p.m. at 2114 N. North Street. See full report here.
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An e-mail from Peoria Police Chief Steve Settingsgaard to the City Council this morning says:
All, just wanted to let you know that as of 530 this morning, escapee Fuller has not been located. Our officers in conjunction with the county and others have continued our efforts through the night and have followed up all leads with negative results. We will continue our efforts today and I will advise If and when there is any significant news.
Yesterday, Aaron M. Cook (28) and James E. Fuller (44) escaped from the Peoria County Jail. Cook has since been recaptured. Fuller is still at large. More details on the breakout and recapture of Cook are available in this Journal Star article. Their escape was ingenious:
To make their initial escape, the inmates somehow cut a hole in the ceiling of a jail cell and carved another hole in the concrete-block roof of the facility, using a stack of books to boost themselves out. From there, they used a rope fashioned from bedsheets to rappel from the two-story-high roof to the ground.
Unlike the movie “Shawshank Redemption,” in which posters were used to hide progress in digging through a prison wall, Fuller and Cook apparently had placed the cut-away section of ceiling back in its place when they weren’t creating the hole in the concrete blocks….
[Sheriff Mike] McCoy said the men were discovered missing during breakfast. They had disguised they were gone by piling up clothing under their bed covers.
The oldest trick in the book. Here’s hoping that, unlike Shawshank Redemption, Fuller is recaptured quickly and put back in jail because, unlike Shawshank Redemption, Fuller isn’t an innocent victim kept in prison by a conniving warden. Fuller is a dangerous criminal, convicted of armed robbery and rape.
It seems to me that whoever did the head count the previous evening would have some explaining to do. If there was a lockdown for bed, as reported, then a headcount was taken, why did the officer not make sure there was actually someone in the cell, and not just a pile on the bed?
Also, if they had that many clothes in their cells, and books to stand on, then perhaps the Sheriff needs to look at reducing what the inmates are allowed to keep in the cells.
I have a friend that is a jailer in another county and he said when you do a head count, you make sure you actually see the person. He said they are only allowed to have 1 change of clothes and 2 books in their cell at a time.
I would like to know what they used for tools to carve a hole in the ceiling and then in the roof? That wasn’t done overnight. If all the utensils are plastic then what did they use? Are they still sleeping on metal beds or concrete blocks with mattresses? This whole thing was planned out and took a while to work, so somebody was not paying close attention like they are supposed too. Most guards will make sure that there is a person in the bed by seeing their faces or prodding them to arousal to see if they are actually there and not just a pile of clothes. This is very serious and a thorough investigation should be done to the interior workings of the jail and its staff.
you said arousal, hehe
I think the County should hire these two as security consultants. Sheriff Klink obviously doesn’t have a clue.
Too late. D150 just hired them.
Sounds like these two, (or more), must have seen “Alcatraz” with Clint Eastwood; exact MO in method of escape. Let’s not be in a hurry to blame the jail officers, wait until the suspensions come out and the new policy handbook is published.
i would like to get info on how they reached the Woodruff H.S. area from the prison while dressed in their bright orange jumpsuits. An accomplice on the outside?
The sheriff explained on 1470 this morning that cameras are not allowed, by law, to be on the inmates while in their cells but how in the world do you not have cameras providing an exterior shot of the jail that are monitored? It would be hard to miss two guys scaling down a wall with their bed sheet ropes and orange suits.
The sheriff also said that because of the location of the hole it would have been difficult for jailers to see the hole that was being created but he also admits it would have taken a year or more to do this. Is it not a standard practice to do a thorough walk through of a cell at least once a year (or 2x, or 4x a year) or so? That would have also fixed this problem?
And finally, the jail admitted that it was over capacity and had been holding multiple prisoners in a cell, but the two that escaped were not supposed to be in the same cell but apparently had been left that way all night long by the jailers. Either they let prisoners randomly decide what cell to stay in, which would be ridiculous, OR the jailers just didn’t care that one of these guys was in a cell he shouldn’t have been.
A lot of questions need to be answered here.
I think on 1470 McCoy stated that the utensil was created from something in the prison–part of some item.
Peoria Pundit says “they got him” at 1:35 p.m.
Evidently he was campaigning door to door for a certain judicial candidate. Good thing they nabbed him!
Yes, at 2114 North street–close to Peoria High, isn’t it?
Let’s hope kids learn from this that books can help you rise above any situation:)
Paul O’Donnell
Second Chance Books
Peoria has a prison? Where they been hidin’ that?
2114 N North = Empty house 1615 N North = Peoria High School Do the math. Too close for comfort IMO.
Also, from all the rain this area has had, wouldn’t the hole have leaked into the cell at some point?
Paul–very good! I guess there’s always room for humor.
I received a call this afternoon about 3:30 from the Sheriff’s office on the reverse 911 system informing me that the second escapee had been caught. I like this system. It informs me when something happens and informs me when its over. One of the things that works great for me.
does anyone get the feeling that McCoy REALLY, REALLY worked this case as this kind of blatant incompetence in his department would be another arrow in the quiver of his opponent in the upcoming election (the first arrow being his drunk son’s accident) ?
[...] Two Peoria County Jail inmates escape, then are caught. [...]
I personally know Cook and he only escaped because of the death of his brother he should not be at blame…the dumba**es at the jail wouldnt allow him to go to his own brothers funeral. And im almost certain that he only used Fuller. Fuller should be behind bars…not Cook.