Consultant Issues Scathing Report On Armstrong Co. Murder Suspect's Jail Escape
PITTSBURGH (KDKA/AP) - A consulting firm says the Pennsylvania county jail where an inmate escaped before allegedly killing a woman had poor morale and training and a warden who wasn't respected by staff - which included a guard who was nodding off instead of monitoring security cameras the morning of the escape.
The report by CSI Corporate Security says 38-year-old Robert Crissman was wrongly given a trusty job that enabled him to leave the jail to retrieve breakfast trays for inmates when he escaped from the Armstrong County Jail on July 30.
Crissman, a heroin user, was still in drug withdrawal and shouldn't have been in the program, the report says.
Crissman walked outside to get the meals from a truck and took off. The body of 55-year-old Tammy Long was later discovered beaten and strangled at a nearby home.
On July 31, Crissman was captured after a brief police chase in Boggs Township.
The Armstrong County Prison Board paid $15,000 for the report but says, despite its findings, no guards "should be held responsible or be blamed" for the incident.
Earlier this month, the Armstrong County Prison Board on announced the resignation of warden David Hogue.
The resignation of the 31-year veteran warden will be effective as of Nov. 12.
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