Search continues for escaped prisoner | Crime | Berkeley Independent

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Search continues for escaped prisoner

Published Tuesday, January 31, 2012 9:47 AM

By Dan Brown and Frank Johnson
Berkeley Independent

Photo by: Stefan Rogenmoser/Independent

A BCSO car travels down Main Street near Berkeley High School during the search.

Photo Provided

James A. Sanders escaped from Hill Finklea Detention Center Thursday afternoon and is wanted by police.

The search continued Monday for a Berkeley County prisoner who escaped from the Hill-Finklea Detention Center in Moncks Corner Thursday.

James Sanders, a white male who stands 5'7" and has dark hair, is considered dangerous, according to the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office.

“We have been following up on leads all weekend long,” BCSO spokesperson Dan Moon said. “Nothing has panned out. He could be anywhere.”

Sanders escaped Thursday after he was incorrectly placed in a holding area for prisoners preparing to be released.

The temporary confusion stemmed from a sentence handed down to Sanders, and gave him just enough time to leave the prison.

Sanders already faced prison time for criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature, when he appeared before a judge on Thursday and received time served for violating a restraining order. Upon his return from the hearing, he was able to slip away from the prison after he was incorrectly placed in a holding area for prisoners who are about to be released.

“Initially, when they saw the ‘time served’ sentence, he was placed in a holding area,” BCSO spokesperson Dan Moon said.

As personnel began going through his paperwork, however, “someone realized that, whoa, this guy can’t go anywhere,” Moon said.

That was when it was discovered that Sanders had fled the prison.

In the hours after the escape, a helicopter circled both the downtown area of Moncks Corner, and surrounding neighborhoods, including those near Berkeley High School. BCSO deputies were seen on several city streets searching both on foot and from patrol cars.

As the search for Sanders entered into Thursday night, details emerged about a ride out of town he took on late Thursday afternoon shortly after his escape.

Investigators located and interviewed a Moncks Corner woman who unwittingly helped the escapee by driving him to downtown Charleston.

According to Moon, the woman gave Sanders a ride to Charleston soon after his escape. She apparently did not know Sanders, and had no idea he was an escaped prisoner. According to reports, Sanders told the woman that his wife was in labor, and he needed a ride to MUSC. The barefoot Sanders was also in need of a pair of shoes – and they stopped en route to Charleston to buy a pair of flip flops for him to wear.

"We spoke to her," Moon said. "She was totally unaware of who the guy was. She had no idea he had just gotten out of jail. She was just being a Moncks Corner trusting person. She didn't know him."

Moon said the woman dropped Sanders off in the vicinity of the Medical University of South Carolina in downtown Charleston.

BCSO investigators along with Charleston police searched the area Thursday night, to no avail.

According to Moon, Sanders and the woman engaged in "pleasant conversation" during the drive to Charleston, and he gave her no indication of where he planned to go after she dropped him off.

Moon said that other leads are being followed, including speaking to Sanders' relatives and acquaintances and checking phone records. "That's all being done as we speak," he said.

Several leads were followed over the weekend, Moon confirmed, but none panned out. The leads included witnesses who thought they may have seen Sanders in the area.

Details about Sanders have been given to the National Crime Information Center. That means law enforcement has been made aware of the escapee "all over the country," Moon said.

Berkeley High School was temporarily placed on lock down following the escape, shortly after 4 p.m. Thursday.

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