KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A Knox County corrections officer is being suspended five days without pay for failing to keep an eye on an inmate who slipped into a laundry cart and was then whisked away in a delivery truck, records show.
Sheriff Tom Spangler warned Korey Holbert if he did anything else wrong he could face "more severe disciplinary action" including losing his job.
"This investigation has revealed a gross lack of judgment on your part," an April 22 letter to Holbert from Spangler states.
Inmate Samuel Fox, 49, was working the morning of March 31 in the kitchen of the Roger D. Wilson Detention Facility off Maloneyville Road in northeast Knox County, according to records.
Shortly before 8 a.m., Fox climbed into a cart full of towels, according to records.
"The cart was loaded into the back of an Aramark delivery van. The van left the property with inmate Fox inside. He did so with the sole purpose to escape from Knox County Sheriff's Office custody.
"This was verified by facility camera footage," a report states.
Authorities said it was one of the first if not the first time anyone had escaped from the facility in its decades of use.
Fox was being held on charges of theft, aggravated burglary, evading arrest and criminal impersonation. He faces charges in Blount and Sevier counties as well.
He's now also charged with escape in Knox County General Sessions Court.
The department investigated the circumstances that allowed Fox to flee.
Holbert, 29, was supposed to watch over inmates working in the kitchen, according to Spangler's letter.
"Your failure to maintain accountability of the inmates under your charge allowed this inmate's escape to go unnoticed for several hours," the letter states.
The officer, a four-year employee, brought discredit to himself and the department, according to Spangler.
"It is my sincere hope that this five (5) day suspension will serve as a reminder of the importance of performing your duties as they are set forth in Departmental Policy and Procedure and General Orders."
Then Sheriff Jimmy "J.J." Jones gave Holbert a written reprimand in May 2018 for "dereliction of duty".
"You have been counseled previously for failing to report for duty within the required time period, yet continue to neglect this very important part of your duties," the reprimand states.