Monroe County officer prevents jail break

2/14/2004

MONROE - Monroe County corrections officers foiled an escape late Thursday night from the maximum-security jail in downtown Monroe, Monroe County jail Administrator Darwin Paz said.

Several prisoners allegedly had been working in unison over an unknown amount of time to loosen the mortar around one of the reinforced cement blocks within a holding cell on the jail s third floor.

Their plan was discovered by a corrections sergeant who heard scratching from the floor below, Mr. Paz said. The prisoners progress had been covered during inspections by a calendar hung on the wall.

Mr. Paz said the prisoners had been using a screwdriver as a tool to work out the mortar. Sheriff s detectives are investigating how prisoners obtained the screwdriver and smuggled it into the jail, the jail administrator said.