County jail locked down
Published 3:15 am Wednesday, May 31, 2006
By By Mary Allison-Lancaster
A fight between an inmate and a correctional officer resulted in a complete jail lockdown Monday.
Escambia County Sheriff Grover Smith said Tuesday the fight began when inmate Darryl Campbell taunted a correctional officer, who was not identified, inside the correctional facility.
The taunting escalated into an altercation and two other inmates, Keith Campbell, Darryl Campbell's cousin, and Dennis Crosby jumped in on the fight. Smith said another officer went in to help but "wisely withdrew and called for backup."
The fight continued for more than 45 minutes and when more officers arrived, Smith said Crosby and Keith Campbell got out of the way.
"When the officers went into the jail they put the offenders on the floor and everybody else they locked in their cell," Smith said. "It's the first time we've been able to lock the inmates in their cells."
New locks have been installed on all the jail doors. However, during the installation, an inmate escaped the grounds after cutting a hole in the exercise yard fence. William Mitchell, 47, was captured three weeks later in Moss Point, Miss.
Smith said security at the jail has been increased since Smith's escape. All of the new locks should be installed by June 3.
Smith said the inmates were kept on lockdown all day and the three inmates will each be charged with assault on a correctional officer.