Two former Armstrong County Jail inmates say no guards were directly supervising inmate trusty Robert E. Crissman Jr. on a work detail last month before he escaped and allegedly killed a woman.
The ex-inmates, including one who was on the work detail with Crissman, provided that information this week and made other potentially damaging statements about the jail’s internal operations to a private investigator for an attorney representing the children of homicide victim Tammy Long.
Police say Crissman ran away from the jail early July 30 and strangled Ms. Long, who lived nearby, a short time later. Following the escape, the warden suspended the trusty program. This week, the county’s Prison Board suspended the warden while an independent investigation plays out.
One of the former inmates, Nathaniel S. Cousins, told an investigator for Pittsburgh lawyer George Kontos that he, Crissman and a third inmate were not in the presence of any guards while participating in the trusty work program that morning.
Trusties are supposed to be nonviolent offenders granted special privileges to participate in work details, such as unloading food trays and mowing grass.
In a signed statement dated Thursday and provided to Mr. Kontos’ investigator, Mr. Cousins wrote that he, Crissman and another inmate, Jacob McClure, “went out on a work release detail to get breakfast trays. To get the morning trays we left the pod and had to get buzzed through several doors by guards. When we got outside we were not accompanied by any guards. When the tray van came around the corner, Robert started running toward the van and then just kept going over the shooting range.”
Mr. Kontos provided the statements Friday to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
“I think that it’s completely irresponsible to not have any supervision of people that are in this program such that they are allowed to walk in an unguarded fashion … in a residential neighborhood,” Mr. Kontos said.
Mr. Kontos is representing Ms. Long's two grown children, Todd and Tara, in what likely will become a wrongful death claim against Armstrong County and the jail. He said he is troubled that a documented heroin addict such as Crissman was permitted to be in a work program outside the jail walls and not under direct supervision.
Jason Lewis, solicitor for the county's prison board, declined comment. Board chairman Richard Fink, a county commissioner, said he could not respond while investigations are pending of the escape and the trusty program by a consultant hired this week.
“We have asked for an independent investigation, and until that’s complete, I really don’t wish to respond until I see the results of that investigation,” Mr. Fink said Friday.
Monaca-based Corporate Security and Investigations was at the jail Friday picking up paperwork as part of the first phase of its probe and is expected to return next week.
In an earlier interview, Mr. Fink said, “Even trusties are supervised, and supervision can be from a distance or that can be a camera.” He declined to say how Crissman was supervised.
Mr. Cousins wrote that he was the one who alerted jail guards to Crissman’s escape. His statement matched testimony from Trooper Terry Geibel, the Pennsylvania State Police lead investigator, who described Crissman's escape during the suspect's preliminary hearing last week on murder, escape and other charges.
Mr. Cousins declined comment Friday. But his mother, Jodi Cousins, verified that her son had given the statement.
"There was no supervision. They stepped outside and Crissman wasn’t going to be with him. There were going to be two guys. They were walking out and Crissman just threw himself with them," Ms. Cousins said.
Mr. Fink said he did not have any information that Crissman tagged along and that there were supposed to be only two people on the tray detail.
Ms. Cousins said she knows relatives of both Ms. Long and Crissman.
“It's sad. And it’s upsetting because they weren’t supervising. It didn't need to happen. … That family lost their mother or girlfriend or daughter, and all because people with the jail were not paying attention,” Ms. Cousins said.
Corey R. Kilgore, another former inmate, told the investigator that he had been unsupervised previously on the program. He added that he was aware there was camera surveillance.
“I was let out to get trays unsupervised every time I went to get them,” Mr. Kilgore wrote in a signed statement dated Monday. He could not be reached for comment.
Police said in an affidavit that Crissman entered the jail July 23 on a probation/parole violation. Mr. Kilgore wrote that Crissman was on his pod July 29 “until his movement to work release block as a trustee [sic]. As a trustee [sic] you are not supposed to leave the jail unsupervised. But on the morning of the killing … Crissman, Nate Cousins & Jake Mc[C]lure were let outside unsupervised to get the breakfast trays.”
Mr. Cousins, 31, of Kittanning, was in jail on a probation violation. He has been arrested on charges of criminal conspiracy, theft and receiving stolen property, all of which were dismissed after he participated in an Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program. He also has pleaded guilty to or been found guilty of DUI, possession of a controlled substance and use or possession of drug paraphernalia.
Mr. Kilgore pleaded guilty this year to disorderly conduct and harassment.
Mr. McClure remains in jail after pleading guilty to DUI.
In addition to concerns about supervision of inmate trusties, Mr. Kontos said he was troubled by how the jail seems to handle drug-addicted inmates.
In his written statement, Mr. Cousins wrote: “There is no detox unit in the jail, and I believe Crissman was withdrawing from drugs.” He also wrote that the jail does not test incoming inmates' blood or do a drug screening.
“They give you a brief physical and a TB test within a couple days,” Mr. Cousins wrote.
That information might be especially pertinent in Crissman’s case. Court records show that he has a history of drug abuse. He has been described in court paperwork as a heroin addict.
It is unclear whether Crissman had been using drugs recently, but Mr. Kontos suspects he had been.
“What I know is his long-standing history of drug addiction and criminal activity related to drug addiction,” Mr. Kontos said. “It is hard to fathom how anyone with a history of drug addiction is cleared for a trusty program without any drug screening or detox. That’s clearly a recipe for disaster.“
Although the investigator sought out the former inmates, Mr. Kontos said neither was coached in his statement. He also said he believes that both are credible despite their criminal records.
Jonathan D. Silver: jsilver@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1962 or on Twitter @jsilverpg.
First Published: August 15, 2015, 4:00 a.m.
