BEAVER, W.Va. — An attempted escape by eight inmates at the Southern Regional Jail in Raleigh County was thwarted last month, according to the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators said a tip came on Nov. 15 about the plan; the prisoners allegedly were plotting to escape through an 18-inch hole cut out of a wall in one of the cells. The breakout reportedly was planned for Thanksgiving weekend.
Raleigh County authorities initially were notified of the tip by Greenbrier County Prosecuting Attorney Patrick Via. The tip was verified by the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office and West Virginia State Police, who found the hole in one of the cells allowing prisoners into a prohibited area of the jail.
Warrants were issued against prisoners Jonathan Felt, Marcus Hannah, Charles Stanley, Danny Malone, Harry Culotta, Thomas Dunbar, Derek Walls and Jason Roberts.