Escape from private Spokane County (WA) facility

[Greg]

Felon escapes from Geiger Correctional Center into waiting car | KXLY TV | Spokane, WA

Ray Marcham / Internet Content Editor, KXLY.com
Last updated: Friday, September 28th, 2007 01:37:32 PM


SPOKANE -- Spokane County deputies are looking for a man who escaped from the Geiger Correctional Center on Thursday night.

The first report of Roger Nordling's escape came after 9 p.m. He jumped the fence, then left the area in a blue, four-door sedan.

He was in the middle of a bible study class when the teacher allowed him to step outside for some fresh air. Nordling then climbed onto the roof of the building that the class was being held in, jumped off the roof onto a nearby parking lot and got into an awaiting car.

According to Captain John McGrath, it appears that a fellow inmate gave Nordling a boost, and that inmate may face charges for facilitating the escape attempt.



Nordling was last seen in a blue four-door Chrysler sedan around the Geiger exit on Interstate 90. At one point Thursday night, members of the Spokane County Sheriff's Office, Spokane Police and Cheney Police were all looking for the escaped inmate.

Nordling is described as a 54-year-old white male. He was at Geiger awaiting trial for second-degree assault, manufacturing and possessing a controlled substance and unlawful possession of a firearm.

He had been at Geiger since May, and was less than a month away from the first court date in his trial when he escaped.

McGrath said that, according to inmates inside Geiger who had knowledge of a potential escape, the people coming to pick up Nordling were armed and prepared to fire upon anyone attempting to prevent the escape.

It is believed that Nordling's actions to flee the compound may be related to issues within his family.

McGrath said that the roof where the escape took place - in the Visitor Center, Building E - will be laced with razor wire to prevent such an escape from reoccurring.

Both the Geiger Correctional Center and the Spokane County Jail were placed on lockdown Friday due to the escape and potential need to shuffle inmates from Geiger to the County Jail in the escape's aftermath.

Anyone with information on Nordling's location is asked to call the Spokane County Sheriff's Office.

KXLY4's Janet O and Brian Clark contributed to this report.

[robeans]

I had no idea there were any private facilities in this state, learn something new everyday I guess.

EDIT: I take it back, it's ran by the Spokane County Sheriff.

[Greg]

Originally Posted by robeans

I had no idea there were any private facilities in this state, learn something new everyday I guess.

EDIT: I take it back, it's ran by the Spokane County Sheriff.

When I was at the academy in Burien in 1997, my roommate was from Spokane County, and I kept hearing him talk about Geiger. It took me a while to figure out just what sort of facility it was.

I think it's the only one of its kind in the state.

[Greg]

Geiger ramps up security efforts | KXLY TV

Jeff Humphrey / KXLY4 Reporter

Last updated: Monday, October 01st, 2007 09:37:15 AM

SPOKANE -- Authorities at the Geiger Corrections Center are stepping up security efforts in the wake of a jailbreak and alcohol-related disturbance late last week.

Last Friday, four separate incidents of assaultive behavior by a handful of drunken inmates prompted Geiger to be placed on lockdown while a tactical unit of the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office was sent in to diffuse the situation and search for contraband alcohol.

The lockdown was lifted at 4 a.m. Saturday, but comes on the heels of an escape, and the two incidents now have County Commissioners looking at sending additional money and resources to Geiger to improve security there.

A day earlier, a man awaiting trial for a number of charges jumped off the roof of the Visitor Center, Building E, during a Bible Study class and into the parking lot. He got into an awaiting car – whose occupants were armed and prepared to fire upon any intervening officers, according to other inmates inside Geiger – and drove off.

As the search for Nordling continued Monday, Geiger officials took a number of measures to make sure that the incident won’t be repeated anytime soon.

Razor wire has been placed on the roof that Nordling used as an escape route. County Commissioners were looking into speeding up the process of securing firearms for officers patrolling the grounds immediately outside the facility. And, Monday, fifteen new employees started their orientation process.

The efforts are intended to address what some see as staffing inadequacies inside Geiger.

At a press conference Friday evening, Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich expressed his frustration with the lack of staff available. He said there were just two officers trying to control 80 inmates when the trouble with alcohol-related altercations started.

All in all, just 11 officers were charged with guarding the 511 inmates at the facility when the disturbances broke out.

KXLY.com's Rob Kauder and Brian Clark contributed to this story.

[Greg]

Geiger escapee, girlfriend arrested in Arizona stop | Spokane Spokesman-Review

Amy Cannata
Staff writer
October 5, 2007

A man accused of escaping from Geiger Corrections Center last week was arrested Thursday morning with his girlfriend during a traffic stop in Arizona.

Roger Nordling broke out of Geiger a week ago, authorities said, but he and Deborah Barden already had marijuana seeds packed up and ready to sell.

An officer with the Arizona Department of Public Safety stopped the pair about 6:40 a.m. on U.S. Highway 60 northwest of Phoenix, said Harold Sanders, the agency's public information officer.

The two were arrested on drug charges and the warrants issued in Spokane County, Sanders said.

"They had a number of baggies with marijuana seeds bagged up for sale," he said.

Nordling is wanted in Spokane County for second-degree escape, and Barden has a Spokane County warrant for conspiracy to commit first-degree escape, said Spokane County sheriff's Sgt. Dave Reagan. He added that Nordling's charge will likely be amended to first-degree escape.

In addition to the conspiracy charge, Barden was booked into the Maricopa County Jail on charges of possession of marijuana, possession of marijuana for sale and transporting marijuana for sale, Sanders said. Nordling was charged with the same drug offenses, as well as hindering prosecution, providing false information and identity theft because he gave someone else's information to the arresting officer.

Sanders said Arizona authorities believe the pair had been in Las Vegas.

Just one week ago, Barden helped break Nordling out of jail, authorities say.

Nordling asked to get some fresh air during a Sept. 27 counseling session at Geiger Corrections Center. Authorities say that when he left the building, he hopped a fence with the help of fellow inmate Anthony I. Dieterle and jumped into Barden's 1991 blue Mercury Topaz.

According to Reagan, Dieterle may also be charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree escape.

License plate information from Barden's car had been entered into a nationwide law enforcement database, which alerted Arizona authorities to the escape charges in Spokane.

The getaway car was the vehicle the two were in when apprehended in Arizona, authorities said. Nordling's Geiger jumpsuit and flip-flops were found in the car.

Nordling was in Geiger after threatening a bail bond employee with a pistol in March as the employee tried to apprehend him. He then threatened a deputy with a gun in April when the Eastern Washington Joint Fugitive Task Force found him in Idaho.

Sanders said the Maricopa County and Spokane County prosecutors will have to work out whether Nordling and Barden are tried for the drug charges in Arizona first or are extradited to face the escape charges in Spokane County.