"Forged documents free 2 killers in Fla." by Mike Schneider and Brendan Farrington | Associated Press, October 18, 2013
ORLANDO — At first glance, the paperwork ordering the release of two convicted murderers serving life sentences in a Florida prison looked legitimate.
So the guards at Franklin Correctional Institution put one of the men on a bus and opened the gates for the other to ride away with family. Authorities now say prison officials were duped by the court documents, which included a fake motion from a prosecutor and a judge’s forged signature.
The release led to a manhunt across central Florida, but the inmates have a significant head start....
It wasn’t clear exactly who dummied up the paperwork....
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"Two convicted killers registered as felons after escapes; Both used forged papers to walk out of prison" by Mike Schneider and Brendan Farrington | Associated Press, October 19, 2013
ORLANDO — Within days of strolling out of prison without a hitch, two convicted killers freed by bogus paperwork went to a jail about 300 miles away and registered as felons, records showed. They were even fingerprinted, photographed, and filled out paperwork to apparently keep up the ruse.
This event(?) presented to me in my prism of an agenda-pushing paper is starting to take on that kind of stench, yeah.
Authorities are now searching for Joseph Jenkins and Charles Walker, who were mistakenly freed from a Panhandle prison within the last month. Both men were serving life in prison but were let go when authorities said forged documents duped the Corrections Department and court system and reduced their sentences to 15 years.
‘‘We’re looking at the system’s breakdown. I’m not standing here to point the finger at any one at this time,’’ Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said Friday as he appealed to the public to help authorities find the men. He said he believed they were still in central Florida.
The release led prosecutors and prison officials to review their records to make sure no one else had been mistakenly freed. The corrections agency also changed its policy to require officials to verify all early releases with judges....
Felons are required to register by law. When they do, their fingerprints are digitally uploaded to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and a deputy at the jail verifies that they don’t have any outstanding warrants, said jail spokesman Allen Moore.
By registering, Jenkins and Walker likely drew less attention to themselves.
‘‘If there’s no hit that comes back, they’re free to go,’’ said Isaiah Dennard, the Florida Sheriffs Association’s jail services coordinator.
If felons do not register, a warrant is put out for their arrest, Dennard said.
The sheriff said there had been some sightings of the men, and ‘‘most’’ of their families were cooperating, but he didn’t go into specifics in either area. Police were offering a $5,000 reward for help and billboards were going up in the area....
It’s not clear exactly who made the fake documents ordering the release, or whether the escapes were related. Authorities said the paperwork in both cases was filed in the last couple of months and included forged signatures from the same prosecutor’s office and judge.
Chief Circuit Judge Belvin Perry said Thursday there were several red flags that should have attracted attention, including that’s it uncommon for a request for a sentence reduction to come from prosecutors.
The Corrections Department said on Friday it verified the early release by checking the Orange County clerk of court’s website and calling the office.
Corrections Secretary Michael Crews sent a letter to judges saying prison officials will now verify with judges — and not just court clerks — before releasing prisoners early....
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"Fla. convicts pressed on who helped in escape; Sophisticated document forgery troubles officials" by Brendan Farrington and Melissa Nelson | Associated Press, October 21, 2013
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. — Back in custody after using forged documents to escape their life sentences, two convicted killers were being grilled on Sunday by law enforcement authorities who said they expect to make more arrests in a case that has given both court and correction officials in Florida a black eye.
Caught 'em quick after the media got involved.
Among the questions being posed to Joseph Jenkins and Charles Walker: Who forged the papers? Who helped you run from police? What other prisoners have gotten away with this? Who was coming from Atlanta to whisk you out of Florida?
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The two prisoners had not been traveling together, but hooked up once word of the forgeries became public and traveled from Orlando to Panama City, said Frank Chiumento , chief of the US Marshals Service for Florida and the Caribbean.
Why would they do that?
Chiumento said Sunday that Joseph Jenkins and Charles Walker knew their time on the run was limited once their ruse had been uncovered. They were under surveillance for about 2½ days, and the men were surprised when authorities finally knocked on their motel door....
That is why you had the trio of articles in such a short time frame when they escaped last month. Government was about to make a bust and alerted the mouthpiece media.
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That's where the Globe stopped asking questions.
