Prison official warns of more high-tech escape attempts after prison break
A South Carolina prison employee is out of a job today after an inmate escaped and took authorities on a 1,200 mile chase.
Jimmy Causey was serving a life sentence at the Lieber Correctional Institution before making a high-tech prison break on Independence Day.
Convicted kidnapper-turned-fugitive Causey checked into a Motel Six near Austin, Texas, late Thursday, falling asleep three long days after he broke out of a maximum security prison in South Carolina.
"We believe a cell phone was used to facilitate and give this inmate the resources to escape," said Director of South Carolina Department of Corrections Bryan Stirling. "We potentionally also believe that a drone was used to get the contraband in to escape."
Stirling believes the drone delivered wire cutters, which Causey used to slice through four fences on the evening of July 4. He left a dummy in his cell to confuse authorities.
"This has been a long couple days for the department," Stirling said.
But at about 3 a.m. on Friday, as Causey snoozed, Texas Rangers and federal authorities moved in, including deputy U.S. Marshal Brandon Filla.
"The Motel 6 left the light on and it helped us out," Filla said.
Authorities found Causey with a shotgun, a handgun, four cell phones, a South Carolina ID and $47,000 in cash.
Causey escaped once before in 2005 after hiding in a garbage truck. But it's newer technology like drones and cell phones have authorities worried.
Causey is on his way back to South Carolina to face new charges. The governor of South Carolina, meanwhile, is demanding permission to jam cell signals at all prisons. But so far, under a decades-old law, the FCC is saying only federal agences have that permission and the cell phone industry is afraid any change could weaken their networks.
