CASS COUNTY, Texas — An East Texas county jail has been cited in a state report claiming an "unsecured" doors allowed an inmate charged with murder to escape from custody over three days in August.
The Cass County Sheriff's Office said Charles Obin Spraberry, 44, broke out of the Cass County Jail using a homemade knife around 7:45 p.m. on Aug. 29. He was taken into custody on Aug. 31 around 8 a.m. after a short chase in Louisiana.
The Texarkana Gazette reported Spraberry is accused of killing two people whose charred remains were found March 13 in Cass County.
According to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, a Sept. 19 report that video from the Aug. 29 escape showed a vestibule door was left unsecured.
Once a jailer opened the cellblock door, the report states Spraberry assaulted the jailer and exited through the vestibule, securing the door behind him. He ran down the hallway in the housing area, and then gained access to the booking area using an unsecured door.
According to TCJS, Spraberry made a "shank" to threaten three other jail personnel into opening the door in the booking area that led to the sallyport.
Once he got to the sallyport, TCJS said Spraberry escaped the facility through that gate, which was also unsecured.
Once the inmate exited the jail into the sallyport, the inmate was able to escape the facility through the sallyport gate which was also unsecured.
Because of the citation, the jail administrators are required to make a corrective plan of action, including training for all jail personnel regarding door security in the facility and the sallyport roll up doors, the report read.
"Facility security shall be planned to protect inmates from one another, protect staff and visitors from inmates, and deter or prevent escapes," the report read.
When Spraberry was taken into custody in August, a woman, who was in the vehicle with him, was also arrested.
Both were booked into the Caddo Correctional Center and further charges are pending, according to the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office in Louisiana.
