Fort Collins – An inmate at the Larimer County Jail took advantage of the aging, overcrowded facility in making his escape Sunday, Sheriff Jim Alderden said.
Craig Dewayne Forbes scaled a 15-foot-high wall between 8 and 9 p.m. Sunday, using part of a metal table for a grappling hook and bed sheets and clothing for a rope, authorities said.
He was captured early Monday morning, when he surrendered peacefully to deputies at an apartment in south Fort Collins.
Alderden said he wasn’t surprised that an inmate was able to get free, noting that the jail has been short on manpower.
“We’ve been predicting this for some time,” the sheriff said.
Forbes, 24, served seven years in prison for burglary of the home of the present district attorney, Larry Abrahamson. He was on parole when he was arrested and jailed on a variety of charges, including aggravated robbery, aggravated motor vehicle theft, vehicular assault and second-degree burglary.
He was facing a May 16 court date when he made his break from the detention center’s outdoor recreation area, Alderden said.
According to authorities, Forbes was in the recreational yard with about 20 other inmates when he attached his grappling hook to an elevated security camera to pull himself up the wall.
He then lowered himself from the roof and slid under the perimeter fence. He ditched his prison clothes and stole a truck from a construction company, the sheriff said.
Forbes was discovered missing about 10:30 p.m., during the last head count of the night.
The truck was seen at the apartment complex, where a woman who knew Forbes lived. He was found in the apartment of the woman’s friend, Alderden said.
Investigators are interviewing inmates who were in the yard and the women to determine if charges will be filed against them.
“He had to have planned this for some time,” the sheriff said. “We suspect other people had knowledge of this.”
Like other jails along the Front Range, Larimer County frequently releases inmates before their sentences are complete to relieve overcrowding. Alderden said Larimer officials are looking at ways to improve security at the jail, which was built in the 1983 and is overcrowded.
Often, there are not enough deputies to keep track of the overflow, Alderden said. On Sunday night, one deputy supervised 72 inmates.
In 2003, Larimer County voters rejected a sales tax for expanding the jail as well as for alternative sentencing programs, officials said.
The jail’s cameras are old and lack the capacity to clearly monitor an entire section of the jail, said Lt. Deb Russell, who oversees jail security.
Not only does the jail need better equipment, it needs more jailers, Russell said. “We don’t have (the) officers to supervise the jail like we should.”
Staff writer Monte Whaley can be reached at 303-726-8674 or mwhaley@denverpost.com.
