James Lee, who escaped from the Allen Oakwood Correctional Institution in Lima late last month, is scheduled to appear in a Henderson, Kentucky courtroom next week.
An arraignment hearing has been set for 9 a.m. June 27 for Lee, who is charged in Kentucky with fleeing or evading police in a motor vehicle, fleeing or evading police on foot and receiving stolen property. All are low-level felonies.
Henderson County Attorney Steve Gold on Tuesday said Kentucky has a two-tiered judicial system. Lee has already appeared in district court for a probable cause hearing. The case was then referred to a grand jury for consideration of the charges. His arraignment hearing next week, following a decision by the grand jury, will be held in circuit court, the county attorney said.
Lee, 47, is also charged with being a fugitive from another state. Gold said Lee’s extradition back to Ohio to stand charges related to his prison escape “is kind of a question of whether (he is extradited) before or after he answers for his crimes in Kentucky.”
Lee remains in the Henderson County Jail under $500,000 bond.
JoEllen Smith, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, confirmed Tuesday that Lee is still in jail in Henderson but would not comment on his extradition status.
She said that “for security reasons, I cannot confirm when he is in Ohio’s custody until after that happens.”
The spokeswoman provided no update on the internal probe at the Allen Oakwood Correctional Institution surrounding the escape of Lee and Bradley Gillespie on May 22 or May 23.
The two inmates reportedly escaped from the Lima prison by concealing themselves in a dumpster. Both men were observed by on May 24 by authorities in Henderson, Kentucky, while driving a stolen vehicle. Lee was taken into custody but Gillespie fled on foot. His body was found May 28 in the Ohio River near Henderson.
Lee had been incarcerated in Ohio since 2016 on burglary, breaking and entering and safe-cracking charges. Gillespie had been in prison since 2010 for a double homicide in Paulding County.
Five employees at the prison have been placed on paid administrative leave while authorities attempt to determine the circumstances surrounding the inmates’ escape.
Chris Mabe, president of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, which represents Ohio prison workers and other state employees, previously blamed the incident on too little staff and mandatory overtime workloads.
Mabe, who worked for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction as a correction officer and sergeant for more than 25 years, suggested the prison reduce the number of inmate programs, curb the movement of inmates and reconfigure visitations to require less staffing.
He did not immediately return a call Tuesday seeking comment on the ODRC’s internal investigation.