Pueblo County inmate with previous escape charge attempts escape with just 2 days left in sentence
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) – The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office has confirmed to KRDO13 that an inmate escaped the Pueblo County Jail last night.
KRDO13 Investigates learned that same inmate had previously pleaded guilty to an escape charge.
According to Pueblo Sheriff David J. Lucero, the inmate was gone for about 35 minutes after walking out of the detention center.
PCSO confirmed the inmate, now identified as Lucas Brown, is back in custody following assistance from the Pueblo Police Department in locating him.
According to the sheriff's office, inmates designated as "kitchen trustees" were cleaning up for the night on Thursday. Brown went to throw out the trash, and took off running west of 9th Street, the sheriff's office said.
"He worked in the kitchen since March 31st. So, [for] 24 days he's been working and never had an issue," Captain Dawn Ballas, a security captain at the Pueblo County Detention Center, told KRDO13 Investigates.
At the time of his alleged escape, Brown had just two days left in his sentence. The sheriff's office said he was originally sentenced to 90 days for criminal mischief.
He now faces additional charges, will no longer be released tomorrow, and is no longer a trustee.
Previous Escape Attempt
KRDO13 Investigates undercovered court documents that showed Brown had pleaded guilty to one count of escaping from a staff-secure facility in 2017. A spokesperson with the 18th Judicial District Attorney, which covers Arapahoe County, said the escape attempt didn't come at a prison or jail but from a court-mandated treatment facility in Aurora. Brown kicked down a secured door, breaking the lock, and hopped a fence in his escape attempt.
The court sentenced him to 60 days for this escape.
Also in 2017, Brown faced multiple charges of assaulting a guard. Those charges were pleaded down to 3rd degree assault.
KRDO13 Investigates asked if the sheriff's office knew about these charges when giving Brown a trustee job
"I am not aware of that. However, again, he's sentenced. What I have for him is he was sentenced as a misdemeanor. That's what we go off of," Captain Dawn Ballas said.
Then we asked if it was a mistake to give him that trustee title in the kitchen.
"Again, I don't know that I have to review it. I don't know that there was a mistake made because based on what we have of him here, it's the criminal mischief," Captain Dawn Ballas said.
The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office later clarified that inmates with a history of escape can still earn a 'trustee' job in the jail if they've been sentenced. However, they wouldn't be given a job that includes outdoor duties, like the kitchen trustee position. This should've disqualified Brown from having that kitchen job.
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