Jonathan Good jail escape report

BIG RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - The Mecosta County Sheriff's Office has released the details of how a man who police say was the ringleader of a group allegedly involved in a massive crime spree escaped custody.

It was Nov. 26 when Jonathan Good, 36, slipped away from the Mecosta County Jail. He was arrested Nov. 30 in Romulus.

Cell Description:

The maximum security cells consist of two 6 x12 foot individual cells within 1 housing unit. Each cell allows for 1 inmate to be housed in it. The cell consist of 1 metal bed attached to the wall, 1 toilet/sink combination attached to the wall and floor, a small metal table with an attached stool that is attached to the wall, a small towel hook (collapsible single hook) that is attached to the wall, 1 stainless steel mirror attached to the wall, 1 mattress, 1 pillow, and 1 small plastic (fire retardant) garbage can.

When an inmate is not on complete lockdown status they are allowed to come out of their individual cell into the inmate walk area. The inmate walk area is a 4 x 16 foot area that is directly outside the cell and is enclosed by cement walls and break resistant glass. The inmate walk area consists of 1 plastic chair, 1 telephone, a shower, and one 3x3 foot skylight.

Skylight:

The skylight in the inmate walk area is recessed into the ceiling. The ceiling is approximately 8 1/2 feet from the floor. There is a 3x3 cut out in the ceiling which extends upward approximately 2 feet to a mesh aluminum grate, then extends another 1 1/2 feet to the skylight. The skylight is made of a double layer, break resistant fiberglass with aluminum reinforcement panels. The mesh aluminum grate was installed after construction to keep an inmate from hiding any contraband in the skylight area.

Inmate History:

On 03-5-2008 Jonathan Good was arrested and lodged at the Mecosta County Jail and waiting trial for several felony counts including attempted murder and kidnapping. Good had been released from the Michigan Department of Corrections, in 2006, for 2nd degree murder for which he had spent 13 years. Good was assessed and classified, using the Northpointe classification system, as a level 2 (maximum security) inmate which meant he would be placed in a maximum security cell, but would be allowed access to the inmate walk area to use the phone, take showers and stretch his legs at his leisure. (Level 1 inmates would be in the same area but would be locked in their cell for 23 hours a day and are allowed into the inmate walk area for 1 hour each day to use the phone, shower and stretch their legs.) Good did not have any physical contact with other inmates or any other persons except for law enforcement and his attorneys. Good's cell door was never opened unless there was a minimum of 2 officers present.

Inmate Good's classification was periodically reviewed by a supervisor every 30 days and Good did not show any signs of disciplinary or aggressive behaviors. His classification remained at level 2 after each review and continued to be held in the maximum security cell with access to the inmate walk area.

The Night of the Escape:

On 11-26-2008 at about 2100 hours the housing officer went through the housing units passing out razors, fingernail and toenail clippers to inmates that wanted them. (this is a nightly task that is performed around this time every night). At about 2106 hours the housing officer passed a razor and toenail clippers to inmate Good located in the maximum security cell. The housing officer continued making rounds and passing out the razors. At about 2153 hours, the housing officer returned to the maximum security cell to retrieve the razor and toenail clippers from inmate Good. At that time inmate Good had the shower running but was still in his full orange uniform. The housing officer asked if he was getting in the shower and inmate Good told the officer that he was. The officer then picked up the razor and toenail clippers and left the area to continue picking up razors in the rest of the housing area. At about 2157 hours, inmate Good moved the plastic chair located in the inmate walk area out of the view of the camera and began his escape through the skylight. At about 2212 hours inmate Good is seen on the roof through the video monitor by the Main Control Officer. The Main Control Officer began calling other officers and an attempt to catch inmate Good was unsuccessful. Area law enforcement surrounded the area over the next 4 days keeping Good within the local neighborhood. Good finally got out of the neighborhood and was captured within hours on the 4th day in Wayne County.

How the Escape was Accomplished:

Sometime prior to the escape, inmate Good had manipulated the towel hook that was mounted to the wall in his cell, by using the toenail clippers. The towel hook was mounted to the wall with regular cement screws. Good was able to get the towel hook off the wall and place it back on the wall in a manner that no one would notice that it had been tampered with. Good had also stacked all his legal paper work that he had in his cell, in a neat and orderly manner, on the desk directly beside the towel hook, this prevented the towel hook from being seen by the camera or when the officers went through his cell.

Three days prior to the escape, Good waited for the housing officer to walk through on their normal rounds, Good then used the plastic chair as a stepping stool and placed one foot on the window ledge then the other foot on either the telephone or the food hatch mechanism then sat on top of the cell door control mechanisms, that are located above the door. These items were used as a ladder for him to get high enough to reach the metal grate and the skylight. Good then used the towel hook to pry away the screws that fastened the grate to the side walls of the skylight until the screws pulled free. Good put the grate back into its proper position and used one of the screws from the towel hook to help hold the grate up so that no one would notice. It only took Good a couple of minutes to accomplish this task.

The day prior to the escape, Good climbed back up to the skylight area and attempted to pry the skylight panels out of the skylight by using the towel hook. His attempts to pry the panels loose did not work. Good got mad and punched the skylight with the towel hook and it broke open the first layer of the skylight. Good tried punching the second layer of the skylight but it didn't break as easy but he knew it would break when he tried it again later. Good did not want to finish breaking the skylight on that evening because it would have allowed cold air to come into the cell area and the officers would notice.

On the evening of the escape, Good packed up the items that he was going to take with him in his pillow case. He used the toenail clippers to take the towel rack off the wall and then waited for the housing officer to come by his cell to pick up the razor and toenail clippers. Prior to the officer arriving at his cell, Good turned on his shower to make it appear like he was going to be taking a shower, knowing that the officer probably would not return too quickly since he would be in the shower. When the officer left, Good allowed a couple of minutes to go by to make sure the officer was not returning and then pulled the chair under the skylight area. Good then removed his clothes, wrapped his sheet around his body, put his orange pants and shirt on over the sheet. He then put 2 pairs of socks on and put his white t-shirt and white boxer shorts on over the oranges. (this allowed for warmth and no one would notice the orange jail uniform). Good then climbed to the skylight area and punched the second layer of the skylight with the towel hook and it broke away. He climbed out of the skylight onto the roof of the jail and proceeded to find an easy way to get off the roof. Good found that he could step off the roof onto the carport area and then climb down the fence that was butted up against the edge of the carport.

Items That Helped Make the Escape:

1. A large amount of legal paper work stacked up to conceal the towel hook.
2. Toenail clippers used to remove the towel hook.
3. Chair used as part of a step ladder system.
4. Telephone used as part of a step ladder system.
5. Door mechanisms used as part of a step ladder system.
6. Towel hook used to pry the grate and punch the skylight panels out.
7. Clothing and sheet used to keep warm once he was out.
8. The designed unbreakable Security Glass skylight was not the skylight that was installed.

Conclusion:

It is apparent that inmate Good had planned his escape over a small period of time. There was no outside contraband that he used to make the escape successful and there was no help from anyone inside or outside the jail to assist in the escape. Officers had conducted proper cell searches and cell checks according to policies and had no reason to suspect that an escape was being planned. Good took only a couple of minutes each time he went into the skylight area and then stopped and went back to his normal routine before the officers would become suspicious. The reason this escape was successful is because the originally designed skylights (Security Glass, resistant to both ballistics and forced entry) that was suppose to be installed during the construction in 2000, was not the actual skylights installed, instead a lower grade of impact resistance fiberglass skylight was installed in its place. There is no individual staff member to be found at fault or any suggestion of possible fault found by any staff member.

Improvement Areas:

1. The 10 skylights that are currently on the jail roof will be removed. The 3x3 skylight holes will be filled with cement and a 10" tubular skylight will be installed. An investigation is currently being conducted to determine why the improper skylights were installed.
2. The telephones in the Maximum security cells are in the process of being replaced with flush mounted phones so they cannot be used as a ladder.
3. The control mechanism box above the cell doors are being extended to the ceiling so that it cannot be used to sit on.
4. Screws and other mounted items within the entire jail were checked for security, and any other areas found are being attached with security screws.
5. Chairs in the maximum security cells have been removed.
6. More video surveillance cameras will be suggested to be installed in the areas of the jail that are not covered including the jail roof.

 

Submitted By:

Capt. Kevin Wood
Jail Administrator
Mecosta County Sheriff’s Office