Staffing blamed in Burke jailbreak

3 men arrested hours after violent escape

Friday, Jan. 12, 2007

By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer

MORGANTON – Low staffing and poor handling of keys at a Morganton jail may have contributed to an escape Wednesday night that left two guards severely beaten and handcuffed, authorities said.

The escape by three Morganton men, authorities said, raises serious questions about security and staffing at the 66-bed jail in Burke County, about 70 miles northwest of Charlotte.

Burke County Sheriff John McDevitt said the escape might have been prevented if the jail had a larger staff. Two jailers were guarding 64 prisoners, he said.

Another contributing factor might have been how a jailer handled his keys, allowing the inmates to take them and easily exit through a series of locked doors, said John Harkins, the state's chief jail inspector.

Bryant Burgess, 22, Larry Harbison, 33, and Matthew Pierce, 18, were charged with misdemeanor escape and an array of felony charges, including assault inflicting serious injury to a government official, kidnapping, vehicle theft and robbery with a dangerous weapon.

Jailer Dean Miller was distributing medication late Wednesday night when the three men grabbed him, choked him with the metal cord of a nearby pay phone and handcuffed him, McDevitt said.

He didn't know whether Miller opened the cell or if inmates grabbed him through the bars.

McDevitt said the men took Miller's keys, sprayed him with pepper spray and beat him repeatedly with a flashlight and baton before unlocking four doors that lead to a control room, where a second guard, Jonathan Earp, was working.

"He thought it was the other jailer coming back," McDevitt said. "(Earp) heard the back door open and walked out of the control room. That's when he was tackled."

Two of the inmates handcuffed and beat Earp, McDevitt said, while the third went into the control room and unlocked a door to the outside. The guards were treated at Grace Hospital in Morganton and released Thursday.

The men fled in a jailer's Ford Mustang and were arrested about 6 a.m., when Concord police saw the car cruising through a hospital parking lot.

Authorities were not sure why the men had driven to Concord.

The men were charged with possession of a stolen vehicle by Concord police and were taken back to Burke County.

McDevitt said having additional staff might have helped prevent the escape. "Every year, for the past eight years, I've asked for an additional jailer per shift," McDevitt said, "and I haven't gotten a single jailer position yet."

But Burke County commissioner Maynard Taylor, who was elected six years ago, said the county has been generous with the Sheriff's Office in recent years, approving funds for new vehicles, pay raises and a deputy for McDevitt to use at the jail or in the courts.

"You can build jails with cells made out of gold, and they'd still be wanting something," Taylor said.

Regardless of how many guards were on duty Wednesday, Harkins said, no jailer should carry keys when interacting with inmates. "(Jailers) will have to come in contact with inmates," he said, "but they should never have keys on them that would allow an inmate to exit the jail."

McDevitt said it's impossible for guards at his jail to maneuver through the hallways of the 30-year-old jail without keys.

Unlike more modern facilities, McDevitt said, the doors do not automatically lock, so deputies must carry keys to move from room to room.

The Burke County jail has a history of security lapses. In July 1999, an inspector noted that the door wasn't kept locked, a safety hazard should inmates riot or attempt to escape. More recently, in January and August 2006, inspectors reported the same problem but imposed no penalties and took no further action, Harkins said.

Harkins said an initial investigation by the N.C. Division of Facility Services shows the control room was locked Wednesday night. The State Bureau of Investigation is also looking into the incident.

Before Wednesday's escape, Burgess was being held on armed robbery charges; Harbison for breaking and entering; and Pierce for probation violation and credit card theft.

All three men were being held in separate cells Thursday at the Burke County jail.


All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.