Concerns over jail security are raised

UTAH STATE PRISON — As the search for two killers who escaped from the Daggett County Jail takes a new turn, the state's chief of corrections expressed concern about the level of security at the rural Utah facility.

"It is clear to me that we need to remedy some urgent items," Utah Department of Corrections director Tom Patterson said Thursday.

Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and lawmakers also said there may need to be an investigation into jailhouse security and the state's practice of housing prison inmates in county jails.

Patterson recently toured the Daggett County Jail, where the inmates remain in lockdown since Sunday's escape of Danny Gallegos and Juan Diaz-Arevalo. In an interview with the Deseret Morning News, Patterson said that after seeing the jail's security conditions, he is concerned there is the potential for more escapes.

"With the lockdown in place, the public is protected," Patterson said. "If the lockdown were to end and our concerns were not addressed ... essentially we would be at the very same standards that existed when Gallegos and Diaz left on Sunday. That's alarming to me."

Patterson would not give specific details about what he saw during his tour but noted several problems.

"There's technological issues. You've got facility issues," he said. "It is also an issue of addressing potential complacency in making sure people are focused on the job."

Daggett County Sheriff Rick Ellsworth has not commented on the escape, but did say Tuesday that he had a conversation with Patterson that addressed "concerns on procedure at the jail."

Gallegos and Diaz-Arevalo are believed to have escaped through an electronically controlled door to the recreation yard, where they jumped a razor-wire fence. The door should have been physically impossible for them to open, because it requires triggering from the control room.

Corrections officials are now investigating whether that door was broken, or if someone opened it for them. The 14 inmates who were housed with the men and staff members at the Daggett County Jail have been interrogated, Patterson said.

"We have not ruled out the assistance of others," he said.

Communication woes

There were only two staff members on duty Sunday. Diaz-Arevalo and Gallegos' escape wasn't noticed until an 8 p.m. head count, giving them a head start of several hours.