The circumstances surrounding last week’s escape of a state inmate from the Tallahatchie County Sheriff’s Sumner Work Center is under investigation, Sheriff William Brewer said Tuesday.
“Our investigation has led us to some individuals in Panola and Union counties [who may have been involved],” noted Brewer. “Based on the district attorney’s recommendation, we’re going to present the whole case to the next grand jury.”
Joey Carrol, 40, who had served less than seven months of a 20-year sentence out of Pontotoc County for sale of methamphetamine, escaped the county-owned Sumner facility shortly after 8 on Wednesday night, April 19, by apparently walking out the front door of the lockup, Brewer noted.
After being on the lam for about 48 hours, Carrol was captured just before 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 21, by law enforcement in Union County, Brewer said. He is back in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, the sheriff added.
In the wake of the escape, Brewer noted that new security measures would be enacted at the Sumner center “to make things a little tighter.”
For starters, Brewer said a new video surveillance system would be installed “in the next few days,” explaining that “the camera system we had doesn’t work.”
IN THE PHOTO: The front door of the Tallahatchie County Sheriff's Sumner Work Center is seen in this July 2015 image. (Sun-Sentinel file photo)
