By R. Michael Johnson
Free Press Editor
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Bloomfield Free Press has chosen not to list the names of inmates who provided investigators information about the sexual encounters at the jail for their protection.
BLOOMFIELD – A design flaw in the Greene County Jail, coupled with a blind spot in the security camera system and some resourceful prisoners has landed six inmates in hot water.
The Bloomfield Free Press has exclusively learned that three female inmates and three male prisoners are charged with Class C felony escape after secretly going back and forth between cell blocks and having sex with each other.
Charged are Misty Moore, 21; Nicole Haldeman, 26; Kay C. Snyder, 27; William ‘Nick’ Hutcherson, no age listed; Jesse Ross, 38; and Alex Rathburn, 17 – all from Greene County.
According to probable cause affidavits filed Friday afternoon in Greene County Circuit Court, an investigation into the ‘Dirty Half-Dozen’ began on Oct. 8 when jail officers conducted a shake-down in the cell blocks, looking for items of contraband.
“Letters found in (the female cell block) during this search indicated inmates housed in (both the females and male cell blocks) were getting through the ceiling area, and making contact with each other,” the affidavit by Detective George Dallaire states. “This contact appears to include sexual activity.”
According to Sheriff Terry Pierce, the inmates had somehow pried up metal security ceiling tiles in the corner of their cell blocks and a design flaw at the jail allowed them to cross into other areas of the jail.
Sheriff Terry Pierce shows where inmates were getting into the ceiling in one of the cellblocks at the Greene County Jail. The inmates were going across the ceilings into other cells to have sexual encounters with one another. (R.M. Johnson photo)
“Some of the walls in this facility were not constructed all the way to the roof,” Pierce said. “This allowed the inmates to cross from cellblock to cellblock once they got into the ceiling.”
Another flaw found in the jail is blind spots in the security camera system.
“They got into this corner, and they were completely off-camera,” Pierce said Friday evening, showing off a small area in the female cell block area near the pay telephone. “That gave them the time to work on the ceiling tiles without being noticed.”
And, it would be no small task to pry up the tiles or even move them slightly. Along with being made of steel and being enclosed in a metal grid, the tiles were held in place on top by strips of steel which clamp the tiles tightly in place.
“These ceiling tiles would not be easy to remove,” Dallaire noted in his affidavit.
Apparently, Haldeman and Moore had removed a shower drain cover and used it to pry up the ceiling tiles.
They then used an inverted laundry hamper to climb up into the ceiling.
The affidavit also stated that the inmates often used the laundry and food trays to pass notes – setting up their rendezvous.
Subsequent interviews with the ‘Dirty Half-Dozen,’ as well as other prisoners found that both the three female and three male inmates had gone between the cells a number of times – most of the time to have sex.
“Nick Hutcherson had gone over to the female block to see (a female inmate) and had sex with her in her bed,” one inmate told investigators.
Another female inmate told Dallaire, “the girls going through the ceiling to the male block had been upsetting to her, and she had even threatened to inform the jailers to try to get the girls to stop leaving (the cellblock).”
A male prisoner told investigators he saw Moore, Haldeman and Snyder all coming through the ceiling tiles “at least 15 times,” and the activity usually took place after midnight – an hour after inmates were locked down for the night.
If convicted, all of the ‘Dirty Half-Dozen’ could face up to eight years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines.
Pierce said Friday evening that measures have already been taken to make the ceiling tiles more secure and close off the areas between the cellblocks.
He also said he is investigating the possibility of either upgrading or replacing the security camera system with one that does not have any gaps in camera coverage.
“If you want to know where the flaws in your jail are, just put prisoners in it,” Pierce said. “They will find each and every one.”
