Man shot escaping jail had no reason to escape
It's no secret that most people in jail want to get out. But what if you can get out and you escape anyway?
Just try to figure Davon Newton's saga today that led to him being shot. Yep, authorities say he tried to escape the Baltimore City Detention Center even though he had no reason to even try. And prson officals are just as perplexed as you will be:
Typically, prisoners on work release leave the inside of the jail to work outside the fence, and then go back to jail.
David Newton, on home detention awaiting trial on drug and burglary charges, charted an opposite course. He would leave his home outside the fence to work inside the jail, and would then return to his house at the end of the day.
So prison officials were a bit perplexed Wednesday afternoon when they said the 19-year-old Newton, not cuffed or shackled, ran from correctional officers escorting him to the laundry room at the Baltimore City Detention Center.
Authorities said he scaled one fence was climbing over a second fence along East Monument Street when a correctional officer shot him twice in the leg. He was hours away from the end of his shift, at which point he would’ve climbed into a prison van and been driven home.
“He woke up in his own bed and he could’ve gone back to his own bed tonight,” said Rick Binetti, a spokesman for the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.
Binetti stressed that there could be extenuating circumstances that prompted Newton to bolt. Maybe he had an open warrant or feared he’d be locked up on another charge. But as of Wednesday evening, Newton’s reasons for running remain a mystery.
Binetti said the correctional officer who opened fire and another officer who participated in the chase are on desk duty while internal investigators probe the shooting. Binetti refused to identify the officers.
According to Binetti’s statement, the correctional officer shot Newton after the detainee refused an order to stop and as he tried to flee by climbing over the second fence. The statement does not say whether the officer felt in danger or whether it is permissible for officers to shoot escapees running away.
Newton had been on home detention since January and has his trial on the drug and burglary charge scheduled for August. He now faces an additional charge of escape. He was treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Comments
This doesn't make sense. Some type of incident had to have occurred between Devon and the officers to prompt this. Whatever they said or did to him must have really scared this guy.
Posted by: Self Defense Pepper Spray | June 30, 2010 9:49 PM
As a former overnight guest of the facility, I looked for ways to escape, just in case. There arent any unless you want to take hostages and force your captures to open doors. Screw it, you're already there. I was falsely charged by a feminazi cop who needed to make her arrest quota according to her fellow officer, (a very cool guy) I was out the next day. Charges dropped. Best to ride out the system, getting shot is not a plan.
Posted by: Jim | July 2, 2010 4:21 PM
Please consider mental illness. I was committed four times after baiting cops and running just for the thrill of it. In jail I ran every opportunity I got.
Posted by: Joan | January 27, 2011 5:49 AM