Three possible sightings probed
By Cathianne Werner-Porterfield and Drew Volturo, Delaware State News
DOVER - An inmate in custody of the state Department of Correction remained on the loose Wednesday after escaping Tuesday morning at the Kent County Courthouse moments before his trial was to begin.
Myron D. Price, 28, of Ellendale, escaped at about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday when two officers were transport-ing him and 12 other inmates from the Sussex Correctional Institution in Georgetown to Kent County Su-perior Court, said DOC spokeswoman Elizabeth Welch.
Mrs. Welch said Price, who is serving an eight-year sentence for trafficking cocaine, remained at large as of 10 p.m. Wednesday. She said he is dangerous and possibly armed.
He was facing trial for numerous robbery and weapons charges. He has not been seen since his escape.
Anyone spotting Price should contact the police immediately and not approach him.
He is described as black, with a medium complexion, 5-foot-7, with a scar on his nose and right wrist and tattoos on his chest and upper arm.
Price was shackled when he left Georgetown but allegedly used a homemade wire tool to pick the lock, Mrs. Welch said.
She refused to release policies on prisoner transport procedures and discipline for officers involved in an escape.
"Under Delaware law, those are not public documents," she said. "We will not be releasing those docu-ments."
Mrs. Welch said state Correction Commissioner Stanley W. Taylor was at a command post at the Sussex Violation of Probation Center in Georgetown Wednesday and was not available to comment.
In addition to Price, Mrs. Welch said there is one prison escapee still loose - Lawrence L. Benner, 38, of Millsboro, who escaped from the state police Dec. 11. There also are 33 work-release walkaways still at-large, Mrs. Welch said.
There have been no confirmed sightings or evidence of Price's presence since a van reported stolen in Do-ver moments after his escape was recovered in Ellendale at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.
However, Mrs. Welch said there have been three possible sightings or events that could be connected to Price:
- An employee at the Royal Farms store in Milford said she saw Price at about 10 a.m. Tuesday. A store surveillance tape showed an individual matching Price's description.
- A suspect matching Price's description twice attempted to shoot a Laurel police officer and fled at about 10 p.m. Tuesday. The gun did not fire either time.
- A white 1987 Cadillac DeVille was reported stolen Wednesday morning from a garage at a home on Johnson Road in Lincoln.
More than 50 officers from DOC, including canine units, continued to search for Price throughout Wednesday in Sussex County, Mrs. Welch said.
She said DOC regards the possible Laurel sighting as a "highly credible lead" and there was a concentra-tion of officers in the area.
Delaware State Police have been assisting in the manhunt, providing troopers and the department's heli-copter, said agency spokesman Cpl. Jeffry Oldham.
"We are just assisting them. This is their investigation," he said. "We are basically at their call if they need us.
"If they need a car stopped or something like that … We have some undercover people assisting them and our helicopter is available to them. If he is spotted anywhere, our helicopter will be called out.
"We are available to them, but anything about where they are looking, I am not going to step on their toes."
Cpl. Oldham said no off-duty officers have been called in to assist in the search.
Price was scheduled to appear in Superior Court for trial Tuesday on two counts of first-degree robbery, five counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, three counts of aggravated men-acing, two counts of wearing a disguise during the commission of a felony and one count of second-degree conspiracy.
He was being held at SCI in default of $450,000 cash-only bail at the time of his escape.
If convicted of all charges, Price could face 167 years in prison, according to Delaware's Truth in Sen-tencing statute.
The charges stem from two liquor store robberies Jan. 15 in Frederica and Milford.
Superior Court President Judge Henry du Pont Ridgely issued a capias Tuesday for Price's arrest and added $100,000 to his bail.
Mrs. Welch said DOC provided extra security at courthouses statewide Wednesday to prevent copycat es-cape attempts, but would not disclose details of the measures.
"I'm not inclined to release specific information related to specific security measures," she said, adding that DOC has not determined the cost of the additional security.
Mrs. Welch said that at about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, two officers were transporting Price and 12 other in-mates from SCI to the Dover courthouse for trial.
According to DOC, when the officers opened the van to take the inmates into the prisoner entrance of the building, Price bolted. One officer chased but was unable to catch him.
Mrs. Welch said Price was handcuffed and in ankle shackles before he was placed in the van in George-town.
She said DOC recovered a homemade tool fashioned from wire inside the van that the department be-lieves Price used to unlock his leg restraints.
Price kept the shackles attached loosely around his legs to appear restrained, Mrs. Welch said. When the van door opened, he ran, and the restraints fell off as he fled north.
DOC officials said he broke into the Wesley United Methodist Church Preschool, Kindergarten and Day Care on Loockerman Street and removed his orange prison jumpsuit. He changed into jeans, a cream-colored shirt and a dark jacket.
Shortly after the escape, a 1990 white Ford Econoline van was reported stolen from a construction site on East Loockerman Street, across from City Hall.
The van was found abandoned at about 11:30 a.m. at the intersection of Del. 16 and Del. 30 near Ellen-dale.
Dover police spokesman Capt. Raymond Taraila Jr. said the department e-mailed updates to the media Tuesday morning to get word of the escape out to the public.
Mrs. Welch said the DOC notifies federal, state and local law enforcement and any of the inmate's victims as a top priority.
"Then we go about notifying the public through the media," she said.
Staff writer Cathianne Werner-Porterfield can be reached at 741-8247 or catwerner@newszap.com
Staff writer Drew Volturo can be reached at 741-8296 or dvolturo@newszap.com
