It is not every day someone manages to break into a jail, but one suspect proved it can be done.
The culprit may have been captured on video surveillance, but he managed to escape arrest after recently sneaking into the local correctional facility.
Warden Jay Shaw provided the Yazoo County Board of Supervisors with a photograph that shows a man sneaking into the Yazoo County Regional Correctional Facility through a portion of the security fence that lacks razor wire.
Shaw shared the recent discovery in an effort to persuade county leaders that, although costly, more adequate razor wiring is needed along the jail fence line.
“You can see a civilian coming up over the back of the fence, coming over into the jail,” Shaw said, showing the photograph at last week’s county board meeting. “We couldn’t identify the person who actually broke into the jail.”
“The cameras caught him, but you didn’t,” asked Supervisor Van Foster.
Shaw admitted the man was not apprehended, adding that there is no razor wire lining the area that has become a problem. It has been estimated that complete wiring of the fence would cost about $55,000. However, the portion in question could cost about $2,000.
Supervisor Cobie Collins said the county did not have $55,000 for the project, adding that the jail is 17 percent over its own budget at the time.
Shaw also said more manpower could curtail such issues. But Collins said he wonders if the employees already hired are doing their job.
“What we’ve got is somebody sitting on their butts, not doing their job,” Collins said. “This fellow here should have been caught. His butt should be sitting in jail.”
Other projects being researched and quotes collected include a new security camera and phone system for the local jail. Supervisor Willie Wright made the motion to take the quotes and other finances surrounding the jail under advisement until the county administrator can research them.
