Posted on 02/27/2006 10:10:53 AM PST by SmithL
A fired prison guard pleaded innocent today to a charge that he helped a prisoner stage a deadly escape last year at the Roane County Courthouse in Kingston.
Capt. Fay Hall of the Roane County Sheriff’s Department said Randall Ridenour, 35, surrendered to authorities on Friday and was charged with facilitating, permitting and aiding the escape of George Hyatte.
Hyatte and his wife, Jennifer Hyatte, face first-degree murder charges in connection with the Aug. 9 slaying of prison guard Wayne "Cotton" Morgan on Aug. 9.
Ridenour was fired from his job Nov. 23 for allowing Hyatte to use his personal cell phone to make two calls on July 18. Both calls went to Jennifer Hyatte.
Hall said Ridenour turned himself in shortly after 10 a.m. Friday. Jailers took Ridenour’s fingerprints and mug shots, then released him on $1,000 bond, Hall said. He is scheduled to appear in Roane County General Sessions Court today.
The office of District Attorney General Scott McCluen declined to confirm the arrest. Ridenour’s lawyer, Pat Cooley, wasn’t available this morning for comment.
Ridenour has acknowledged he violated Department of Correction policy, but denied violating the law. In a letter to the acting warden at Brushy Mountain Correctional Institution, Ridenour said he didn’t intend "for any of my actions to aid anyone else in violating the law."
The Hyattes are scheduled to face separate trials later this year. Their brazen escape and subsequent flight from justice drew national attention.
Authorities allege Jennifer Hyatte shot Morgan during a shootout on Aug. 9 as Morgan and his partner, Larry "Porky" Davis, escorted George Hyatte out of the Roane County Courthouse following a hearing. Morgan died about an hour after the shooting.
The Hyattes changed vehicles and fled to Ohio, where they were captured without incident 36 hours later in a low-rent motel in Columbus, Ohio.
Q. When did this slaying take place?
A. Contact the Department of Redundancy Department.
Are there no editors anymore?
Apparently this one thinks one pleas "Innocent" to a crime, as opposed to "Not Guilty". This editor ain't the brightest bulb in the chandelier, I think...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.