An inmate in the Isle of Wight escaped from work-release custody only to be caught in Hampton.
The whole ordeal happened under the Isle of Wight County Sheriff’s Office. This must have been a scary thing for all those in Hampton who heard of this escape and capture.
Thankfully, the police department did capture the man not long after he escaped, and that should definitely be celebrated. There is no doubt that this inmate is now going to be heavily guarded, and he is probably going to go through a few disciplinary measures to make sure he understands how serious this issue is.
David Perkins, who is 24, was the person who escaped. He used to live in Suffolk before he was arrested. This young man worked at the Isle of Wight fairgrounds, helping the people setup everything for the fair that was taking place not long after.
He was a part of a work-release program that is supposed to give these individuals purpose and show them how rewarding an honest day of work could be. This program does have its critics. Some people say that the pay is too low and that private prisons use these types of programs to make a profit and exploit workers. The nuances related to this program are a little complicated, but it has shown to be effective in some cases, but apparently this young man had other plans.
It seems like young Perkins escaped custody at 7:30 a.m. The escape was almost something out of a movie since it seems that he escaped from a bathroom on the fairgrounds. He abused the trust he was given by the officers. After the bathroom escape, young Perkins made his way to his girlfriend who was waiting to pick him up.
The girlfriend’s name is Britney Jane Lee. She is two years younger than Perkins. The two made their escape but not for long since they were caught at a gas station in Hampton. It must have been strange to feel freedom for a little while only to be caught at a gas station.
The two were captured, thanks the the investigative work the Isle of Wight Sheriff’s Office did, along with information that was given to them by the people of Isle of Wight. Many people in the community called in to try to help the police department, and their help did bring these two into custody.
It seems like Perkins actually had phone conversations regarding the escape. Young Perkins had talked about escaping and explained how he was going to do it on the phone. Of course, the police department was able to extract this recorded audio to try to get more information about his plans. In the audio, Perkins was not only thinking of escaping, he was also figuring out a way to stay free for the rest of his life and not get caught. Thankfully, the police department was able to stop him from accomplishing his plan.
Perkins went to jail for grand larceny, in addition to two counts of fraud. As a tragic side note, it seems young Perkins only had two more months to go before he was going to be released. All that added stress was unnecessary, but that was Perkin’s choice, and now he has to live with the consequences, no matter what they may be.
Lee is also in trouble for aiding an escaped prisoner, so there is no telling where this might lead for her. A little patience could have gone a long way and prevented a lot of ramifications for the escapee and his girlfriend.
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