Kentucky jail inmates captured, back in custody.
Two inmates who escaped a Kentucky jail on Saturday night by hiding inside trashcansare back in custody.
Louisville Metro Department of Corrections Director Mark Bolton said the escape was a result of a “breakdown” of basic security protocols.
“You know that the possibilities of that are always present,” Bolton said of an inmate escape. “But when it could have been prevented with just security 101, yeah, that’s pretty upsetting.”
After a weekend of following leads, both Justin Stumler, 27, and Jeremy Hunt, 38, were back in custody by Monday evening.
Stumler was arrested Monday morning after Louisville Metro Police detectives learned he was meeting a family member at a McDonald’s, according to an arrest slip. They attempted to pull him over, police said, but Stumler fled, blowing through two red lights and veering into oncoming traffic.
He’s now charged with fleeing police and escape from custody.
Hunt was captured in the afternoon after leading law enforcement on a car chase that ended in a crash.
He was taken to a hospital and is expected to survive his injuries, according to police.
Bolton released security footage Monday showing the escape of the minimum security inmates who were working in the jail kitchen.
In the video, an unidentified inmate is seen rolling large, wheeled trashcans outside to a dumpster as a corrections employee stands watch around 10 p.m. Saturday.
Both men appear to then go inside.
About two minutes later, the video shows an inmate quickly pulling two more trashcans outside before running back to the building.
Barely a minute passes before the cans’ lids rise — just barely at first — apparently for a peek of the outside. The men in orange jumpsuits then clumsily spring from the bins, with one taking care to close the lid behind him.
The inmates run behind the dumpster, from which they soon emerge without their orange jumpsuits and walk off screen.
Bolton, the jail’s director, said part of the department’s protocol is to check trash cans before they leave the building.
“It does not look like that took place,” he said.
Bolton credited a passerby who saw the two escaped men and alerted corrections staff. A headcount in the kitchens confirmed the men were gone.
Within an hour, warrants were issued for their arrests.
Three inmates have also been charged with helping Stumler and Hunt plan and execute the escape.
Gary Bradford, 33; Justin Rankin, 28, and Tajuan Burton, 18, were each charged with two counts of facilitation of escape in the second degree.
Bolton declined to elaborate on the three men’s roles in the escape, citing the pending investigation and possible charges against other inmates.
At least two jail officers are temporarily reassigned, he said, as the jail launches an “up and down” review of security protocols and procedures.
Eligibility criteria to become an inmate worker will also be reviewed, the director said, noting about 100 inmates on any given day help with aspects of running the facility.
“Obviously we rely heavily on inmate workers to assist with meal preparation and service, maintenance activities throughout the facility,” he said. “Without those inmate workers, certainly we could not function. It’s a big part of our program.”
Jeffersontown Police arrested Stumler on Aug. 27 on charges of motor vehicle theft, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, felony drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Louisville Metro Police arrested Hunt on June 28 on several felony burglary charges.
