Convict strolls straight out of prison after pretending to be cellmate
Law enforcement in Southwest Washington were in a frenzy this week when an inmate somehow managed to stroll right out of prison.
Convict Brian Francisco Roman, 26, somehow fooled prison guards into thinking he was his cellmate, who was due to be released that day.
I guess it gets a little confusing when they all wear the same uniform.
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Brian, who is in jail for a drug possession charge, escaped from Cowlitz County jail on Monday (17 April) - and it wasn't some Shawshank Redemption style escape, either.
In fact, it was painfully simple.
The inmate seized an opportunity when a corrections officer came to his cell, where he and his two cellmates were sleeping.
When the corrections officer called for the inmate who was due to be released, Brian answered instead, the local sheriff's office has said.
Yep, it was really that simple. No Rita Hayworth posters or rock hammers necessary.
He forged the other cellmate's name when signing the discharge paperwork, and before anyone knew what had happened, Brian was out of there.
Brian was then given all of the property his cellmate had originally come in with, including his keys, clothes, and wallet with his ID and debit card inside.
A still taken from surveillance footage shows Brian dressed in his cellmate's clothes and walking out of jail with some forms in-hand.
It wasn't until later, when Brian's cellmate woke up and asked jail guards when he was going to be released, that staff realised what had happened.
There's no way someone isn't getting fired over this one.
Though staff has said that, in their defence, Brian and his cellmate looked very similar.
"Jail staff stated that Roman and the other inmate have similar physical features," a statement from Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office read.
Police quickly issued a warrant for Brian Roman's arrest on new charges of escape in the second degree, criminal impersonation in the first fegree, forgery, theft in the second degree, and theft in the third degree.
The public was alerted by the sheriff's office and asked to call 911, if they saw a man that met Brian's description, out and about in or around Washington.
He had last been seen wearing a blue hoodie, grey sweatpants, and brown slippers - his cellmate's fashion choices, in fairness.
On Wednesday (19 April), Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office confirmed that Brian was back in custody, though the circumstances of his capture have not yet been confirmed.
Ali Condon