Sat, Jul 19 2008
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Published May 12, 2008 11:40 pm - Fleeing inmates captured near Boynton By Donna Hales Phoenix Staff Writer Two escapees from Jess Dunn Correctional Center in Taft were free just a little more than 12 hours when captured at 9:10 a.m. Monday in a field near Boynton.
Both are expected to face felony escape charges, said Jess Dunn Deputy Warden Angela Reagan. Billy Ray Strickland, 43, and Ronald Dale Biven, 32, allegedly were headed to Haskell and then started backtracking, Reagan said. Sunday’s escape is the second at the correctional center in the past month. Three inmates who escaped April 14 were recaptured after several hours. After the men were captured, they told officials they escaped around 9 p.m. As soon as prison officials realized the men were missing, they found an area in the fence behind the chapel where the razor wire was pushed down, said a statement released by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Both men were considered dangerous, and one of them was HIV positive, according to OHP. OHP Troop Z’s tactical team was called in about 2:30 a.m. Monday. The team’s dogs also were brought in to aid in the search, Reagan said. The dog track went north from the prison to the river, turned west and then went to a large creek. It then turned back south crossing Old Oklahoma 16 and Oklahoma 16. The track continued south approximately three miles from Oklahoma 16 where the track led to the two suspects in a field, the OHP states. OHP took the escapees into custody without incident about 15 miles from the prison site. They were in a field one mile north of Boynton and three miles east, she said. Both inmates were placed in lockdown in a restrictive housing unit until they can be transported to a medium-security prison, Reagan said. The escapees had been in the chapel at a 7:30 p.m. Sunday head count. But they were missing at the 10 p.m. head count, she said. Reagan said she did not know how or at what time they escaped. Strickland is serving a five-year term for robbery with a dangerous weapon, she said. He also has been convicted of embezzlement and drug possession, in addition to three escape convictions between 1988 and 1993. All four of his escapes have been at different facilities across Oklahoma. Biven has been serving a four-year sentence for knowingly concealing stolen property and endeavoring to manufacture a controlled dangerous substance. He was previously convicted of second-degree burglary and marijuana possession inside a penal institution. A report on the escapees will go to Muskogee County District Attorney Larry Moore’s Office, Reagan said. She expects both will face felony escape charges. The state Department of Corrections Web site shows Strickland serving 23 years for two robbery convictions. Biven has previous convictions for driving under the influence and possession of drugs with intent to distribute. 
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