Prisoner walks out of jail after impersonating his sleeping cellmate who was due to be released
An inmate has escaped prison after impersonating his sleeping cellmate, who was set to be released later that day.
Brian Francisco Roman, 26, remarkably managed to stroll out of Cowlitz County jail in Washington, DC and is now on the run.
CCTV cameras captured Roman, who was jailed for drug-trafficking charges, dressing up in his cellmate's clothes before he made a break for it.
A guard came to the cell and asked for the cellmate to get ready to be discharged and that's when Roman took the opportunity and ran with it...literally.
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Before he left the prison confines, he approached security guards and was given his cellmate's items, including keys, wallet, ID and debit card.
Roman continued to sign the discharge paperwork while forging the other criminal's signature.
He then seamlessly headed out the door.
Security guards ultimately realized what had happened when the other inmate approached them and asked when he would be discharged that day.
Offft, some people are definitely getting fired.
The guards claimed the confusion occurred as both inmates look alike, according to a statement posted by the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office's Facebook page.
"When the corrections officer called for the inmate, Roman identified himself as that inmate and went with the corrections officer to be processed out of custody," the statement said.
"Jail staff stated that Roman and the other inmate have similar physical features.
A warrant was issued for Roman’s arrest, adding charges of escape, criminal impersonation, forgery and theft as police are currently trying to track him down.
Police said Roman was last seen wearing a blue hoodie, a black shirt, gray sweatpants, and brown slippers.
According to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics, around 2,000 people escape from prison every year.
However, the Crime and Justice Research Alliance reported that 92 per cent of inmates who flee are ultimately recaptured.
But, their findings suggest that escapes from correction custody is a largely overlooked issue in the country.
"As an important precursor to escaping from prison is increased justice involvement, the authors recommended that policy makers direct greater counseling and supervision resources to inmates after they are sentenced to help mitigate the impact of this news on escape behavior," they wrote.
"Overall, these findings indicated that escapes from jail are a frequent, yet overlooked, phenomenon. The results challenged the misconception that escapes are often sensational and violent events."
They added prison breaks are often 'opportunistic'.
Charisa Bossinakis