Myron D. Price, 28, of Ellendale was headed to court, fled van
By TIFFANY ARNOLD
Staff reporter
12/23/2003
State officials increased the reward to $10,000 for information leading to the capture of an inmate who escaped on his way to the Kent County Courthouse.
The state Department of Correction increased the reward for Myron D. Price, 28, of Ellendale from $500 to generate more interest in his capture, said spokeswoman Beth Welch.
Price fled the Kent County Courthouse parking lot after he escaped from a parked Sussex Correctional Institute van carrying 13 prisoners from Georgetown on Dec. 16.
Price, who was serving an eight-year sentence for drug trafficking, was scheduled for arraignment at the courthouse. Earlier this month, state police detectives charged him with robbery, weapons offenses and other charges stemming from five armed liquor store robberies in November 2002 and January 2003 in Sussex County.
Price faces new charges of escape, felony vehicle theft, misdemeanor theft, burglary and criminal mischief. Dover Police Capt. Ray Taraila said Price broke into Wesley United Methodist Church, at 209 S. State St., and stole a nearby van shortly after he fled.
The escape has prompted officials to review security and transport policies. It was the first escape of this kind for the department in 30 years.
Welch said Price used a metal wire to free himself of locked handcuffs and leg shackles while on the van and closed them again so they appeared locked. She said he fled when officers opened the door, kicking the leg shackles loose.
Correction Commissioner Stanley Taylor said inmates are routinely searched and frisked before being transported. He said the department followed proper procedures the day Price escaped.
Taylor said an inmate confinement area would be added once the state takes over ownership of the courthouse. The area would allow officials to move inmates securely from prison vans to the courts. The Sussex County Courthouse and the newly built New Castle County Courthouse have secured confinement areas for inmate transport.
Welch said Price could have made calls to set up the escape on a cell phone that was in the stolen van. She said investigators have retrieved the cell phone log and were tracking the numbers.
"We will continue in our full investigation and surveillance efforts. We're going to go until we get him," Welch said.
There have been at least three reported sightings of Price, Welch said, but none was confirmed.
Reach Tiffany Arnold at 324-2280 or tarnold@delawareonline.com.
