Inmates Who Attacked Jailers, Escaped From Delaware County Jail Identified

NewsOn6.com & Lacie Lowry, News On 6

DELAWARE COUNTY – The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has identified two inmates who beat up two jailers and then escaped from the Delaware County jail Wednesday night.

5/12/2011 Related Story: One Inmate Dead, Another Recaptured After Escaping From Delaware County Jail

The OSBI said Devin Martin, 20, and Kyle Sutton, 24, attacked jailers about 7 p.m. Wednesday as the inmates were being served dinner. They attacked Linda Eaton, 46, and Matt Hyso, 30. The jailers were both hit in the head with a metal pipe and taken to a Joplin hospital for treatment.

Martin was wanted in connection with a deadly stabbing back in February. Sutton had been in jail on drug charges since November.

2/7/2011 Related Story: Delaware County Man Arrested In Stabbing Death Early Monday

"They're not in jail for singing too loud in the choir on Sunday morning," Captain Ron Teel, Delaware County Sheriff's Office, said.

According to the OSBI, Martin and Sutton attacked the jailers when they opened the cell door.  The OSBI said they hit a jailer in the head with a metal pipe from a TV stand, then stole the keys to one of the jailer's personal vehicles and took off.

Delaware County deputies and Jay Police chased the pair down Highway 59, exchanging gunfire along the way.  The chase ended on a county road where Martin said he was not going to prison and shot himself in the head.  

Sutton surrendered.  He was booked into the Mayes County jail. 

The Delaware County Sheriff's office said Sutton has been moved to a nearby jail. The sheriff's office said he could face charges of escaping a county jail, aggravated assault on a corrections officer, and possession of firearm by convicted felon.

"We are doing the best we can with the facility that we have to take care of the public the best we can and the jail in the condition that it is. We know about those issues," Teel said.

Those "issues" have involved overcrowding at the jail since it was built in 2000. The jail capacity is 61, but officials say it often operates above that limit. Right now, there are 65 inmates behind bars.

"It is an ongoing problem, but saying they did it just because of overcrowding, no we can't tie it to just that," Billy Sievert, a former Delaware County jailer, said.

Between 2008 and 2010, Delaware County voters shot down a sales tax proposal on four separate occasions to improve the jail. Sievert says overcrowding is definitely a problem, but there's another concern.

"I was really surprised when I started working there, they didn't offer you any kind of basic self defense classes," he said.

Sievert worked at the jail up until two weeks ago.

"I think personally, this could have turned out a lot better, the situation that happened," he said.

A sheriff's spokesman says the last jail break they had was about three years ago and they had all three escapees back in custody within 24 hours.  The sheriff's office will be reviewing jail procedures.