When the Minnesota Department of Corrections begins another jail inspection this week, who better to ask about security than the three individuals who escaped from custody a week ago?.

Monday, April 02, 2001

When the Minnesota Department of Corrections begins another jail inspection this week, who better to ask about security than the three individuals who escaped from custody a week ago?

That may be a cynic’s approach to the bizarre events that transpired March 25, when three murder suspects – all kept in the same area of the Mower County Jail – were able to lure a guard into a cell and then overpower him as well as another and make their getaway by jumping to freedom from a second-story window without bars.

The three suspects were recaptured 54 hours after their escape in an Oakdale home and are back in custody at the Oak Park Heights maximum security prison. They were returned to the jail, where they were temporarily held Friday afternoon, to make their first appearance in Mower County Third Judicial District Court.

The three, Vernon Neal Powers Jr., 28, Scott Perry Christian, 30, and his brother, David Kenneth Christian, also 28, all of St. Paul, will stand trial together on first-degree premeditated murder charges. If the trial can begin as scheduled April 9 remains to be seen because of defense motions to move the trial to another jurisdiction.

A fourth defendant in the case, Jenea Larae-Nichol Weinand, 19, of St. Paul, and also housed in the Mower County Jail, will be tried separately at a future date.

Mower County Sheriff Barry J. Simonson visited with the Mower County Board of Commissioners last Tuesday about the escape and other jail issues.

He has questioned the alleged obsolescence of the facility, built in 1965, as well as over-crowding concerns.

Simsonson said last Friday: "The policies and procedures for the jail are being reviewed and that includes what went on there last Sunday (March 25). This is being looked at."

In compliance

The jail has passed its annual state inspections each year and the county has kept its license to operate it "as is."

The visit by the state this week is purely coincidental and was scheduled months ago. The last inspection was held April 6, 2000.

Jail administrator Bob Roche and his staff were praised for their "assistance and hospitality" by Timothy G. Thompson, detention facility inspector for the Department of Corrections.

Thompson found the Mower County Jail was in " substantial compliance on the day of inspection" and authorized to continue operation as a Class III facility.

The jail has a maximum capacity of 40 prisoners, but is authorized for a variance to go to 44 beds as necessary. In fact, the jail has 45 beds.

The state inspector also praised the Mower County Board of Commissioners for their "willingness to look to the future public safety needs of the county."

The sheriff, Chief Deputy Terese Amazi, jail administrator and facility staff were all commended for their "continuing efforts to effectively address and correct all issues that have arisen since the last on-site inspection."

Age, design are concern

The state inspector did note: "The age and design of the Mower County Jail is a concern."

According to the inspector, the jail’s linear design makes it "much more staff intensive" than more modern direct-supervision facilities now being designed and built.

As for staffing levels, Thompson noted, the type of population of inmates "may dramatically increase the rate of staff "burnout."

Thompson had access to the jail’s confidential files on inmates’ behavior.

"It appears that the incidents occurring within the facility are becoming more violent and/or assault oriented," the inspector said. "This may be due, in part, to the difference in the cultures of persons being housed within the facility."

He recommended hiring more jail staff.

Thompson did express his concern about the age and design of the facility. Because the facility was built and in use before rules for adult detention facilities were enacted in 1978, the Mower County Jail is grandfathered into compliance.

Jail population rises

The continuing increase in the jail’s average daily population – from 25 to 31 in 1996 to 32 to 37 in 1999 – caused Thompson to direct a recommendation to the Mower County Board of Commissioners to form a jail study committee to "help determine the needs and the feasibility of the county in terms of public safety."

Interestingly, Thompson addressed the state’s "operational bed capacity" or the calculated number of inmates that a facility may house and still allow for proper "separation of inmates according to their classification" as well as to provide necessary maintenance to the facility.

Thompson’s recommended operational bed capacity for the Mower County Jail is 70 percent of the approved capacity, or 28 inmates.

When he inspected the jail a year ago, the inmate population was 35.

When the jail’s population exceeds approved capacity figures, the inspector concluded, "The potential for problems managing the facility increases dramatically. These problems may arise in the form of an increase in assault-related incidents as well as deterioration of the physical plant."

Mower County jailers Louis Dion and Mary Bates recovered from their injuries suffered in last week’s beatings by the three murder suspects.

They have not returned to work, pending a doctor’s verification of their health and physical condition, Simonson said.

Call Lee Bonorden at 434-2232 or e-mail him at newsroom@austindailyherald.com.