Idaho work crew escapees caught in Superior

Melissa Oyer

Mineral Independent

Three Idaho Department of Correction inmates who escaped from a work detail assignment in Idaho were apprehended Tuesday in Superior.

Minimum-custody inmates Garry G. Layman, 36, Matthew S. Harris, 26, and Jeffrey Anthony Whipple, 46, were taken into custody in Mineral County.

Monday afternoon, Sheriff Hugh Hopwood and the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office were notified by Idaho authorities that three work crew detainees had walked away from their assignment and could possibly be headed for western Montana.

The men were a part of a work crew that were building and repairing trails east of the Avery Ranger Station in north-central Idaho.

Idaho authorities told Hopwood they were confident the men would not make it over the tall mountain passes because of snow still lingering and it would be difficult for them to make it too far.

Hopwood, along with Deputy Sheriff Joe Bettis and Deputy Sheriff Bill Pandis began searching roads on the western side of the county.

They searched up and down Little Joe Road, Silver Creek, Cedar Creek and roads throughout the Taft area.

Hopwood felt these roads would be the most accessible for them to use because they were the clearest.

The officers saw no signs of foot traffic and decided to stop the search for the night and resume first thing the next morning.

Early Tuesday, deputies performed additional searches after the Idaho officials notified Mineral County Sheriff’s Office that they had reasons to believe the three suspects were in that area.

Flyers with pictures and detailed descriptions were distributed to area businesses all the way from the West End into Superior.

Hopwood said he thought the travel centers were their best bet, thinking truck drivers may have seen the escapees on the roads around Mineral County.

Hopwood instructed employees of the businesses where he delivered flyers to not handle the situation themselves, but to notify authorities immediately if they witness anyone suspicious in the area.

He then traveled to Cedar Creek Road to resume searching.

Less than an hour after Hopwood left the Superior Town Pump, an employee called 911 and informed dispatch that she believed two of the men pictured on the flyers Hopwood ad just gave them were standing outside.

Hopwood and his two deputies made it back to the Town Pump where they were able to successfully apprehend the suspects without any altercation.

Matthew S. Harris and Jeffrey Anthony Whipple were taken into custody shortly after 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Customers reported that the third suspect was spotted inside the store.

Hopwood and Bettis, along with Highway Patrol officers Steve Gaston and Darlene Lee, initiated a search of the premises. But Layman was nowhere to be found.

According to Hopwood, deputies searched the entire store premises including the beer cooler, restrooms and the casino thoroughly before searching vehicles in the parking lot. The third escapee, Garry G. Layman, was found about two hours later hiding near some railroad tracks on Iron Mountain Road.

Layman was in possession of a railroad spike when he was taken into custody.

Hopwood was openhanded in his applause of the Town Pump and their courageous and heedful employees.

"Had they not been so attentive of the flyers we gave them, we probably would not have been able to have taken these guys in so quickly," Hopwood said.  

The three had an initial appearance before a justice of the peace in Superior Wednesday afternoon to answer for warrants issued through Shoshone County, Idaho.

The three detainees waived extradition and were then transported to Wallace, Idaho.

Layman, 36, was serving a two- to eight-year sentence for burglary in Bannock County, Idaho. A warden with the IDOC told Hopwood Layman was eligible for parole on Dec. 24 of this year.

Harris, 26, was serving a one- to five-year sentence for burglary, also from Bannock County, and was scheduled for release on Dec. 28, 2009.

Whipple, 46, was serving up to five years for illegal possession of a weapon in Kootenai County, Idaho. He would have been eligible for parole on Sept. 20.

The inmates were assigned to the Givens Hall Work Camp at the Idaho Correctional Institution in Orofino.