Update Friday, Jan. 10:
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation confirmed the son of Grainger County Sheriff Scott Layel is among five former workers at the Grainger County Detention Center facing various charges stemming from a TBI investigation.
Jacob Scott Layel is charged with official misconduct and theft under $500.
District Attorney General James Dunn said in a press release that the grand jury indicted Layel along with Joshua C. Bumgardner, Jessie Cummings, Tylor M. Farrow, and Michael A. Sane following TBI's investigation.
TBI opened an investigation after three inmates escaped in November. Officials didn't realize the inmates were missing for several days. TBI recently opened an investigation into the facility and its employees, searching for major security and operational flaws.
Original Story:
Five former workers at the Grainger County Detention Center are facing various charges after a TBI investigation that took place after the escape of three inmates.
According to a press release by District Attorney General James Dunn, the grand jury met Wednesday and returned indictments against the following:
- Joshua Cory Bumgardner is charged with official oppression and official misconduct
- Jessie Cummings is charged with sexual contact with an inmate (two counts), official oppression, and official misconduct (three counts)
- Tylor Matthew Farrow is charged with official misconduct and introduction of contraband
- Jacob Scott Layel is charged with official misconduct and theft under $500
- Michael Alton Sane is charged with bribery (three counts), permitting or facilitating escape (three counts), official misconduct (six counts), and accessory after the fact
The escape of those three inmates in November exposed
in the jail. The inmates weren't missed for several days. General Dunn ordered the jail
and brought in Blount County deputies to sweep the jail for contraband and other issues. The TBI then opened an investigation into the facility and its employees.
Sane was the officer in charge and was fired after the escapes, along with two other jailers.
Cummings, along with the sheriff, chief deputy, and several others are named in a lawsuit filed by a former inmate who said he repeatedly raped her.
Since the issues with the jail, county commissioners approved more than $160,000 for upgrades at the jail.
