"Last Friday we failed our mission to keep people safe,” said Scott Frakes.
Nebraska Corrections Director Scott Frakes says because at least two or more Lincoln Correctional Center staff members failed to follow written procedures, two inmates were able to escape.
“If the procedures had been followed there wouldn’t be two inmates in a truck,” said Frakes.
Frakes says on Friday 37-year-old Armon Dixon and 52-year-old Timothy Clausen, both serving time for sex assaults, told a guard they were going to begin work in the laundry room. Even though their names were not on the work list, they were allowed to enter the area.
Around 9 a.m. the men snuck out of the facility in a laundry truck and later cut a hole in the truck’s roof to escape.
“Was it a training issue? Is it an accountability issue? Do we need an additional level of check and verify,” said Frakes.
According to a preliminary timeline of events, it wasn’t until a little before one o’clock in the afternoon that it was confirmed Clausen and Dixon were missing. Frakes says if the proper counts were being taken inside LCC they would have known much sooner.
"I apologize to the citizens that were injured in the car accident on Friday and Saturday with the assault and I apologize to Nebraska, this should not have happened,” said Frakes.
On Saturday morning after Dixon allegedly attacked two women he was found by a police K9 hiding in a storm drain near 49th and Francis Streets in Lincoln. Clausen was still on the run.
“It is a public safety concern. Mr. Clausen is an inmate, he is a convicted felon and his crimes are of violence,” said Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer.
Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer says Clausen was last spotted in Northeast Omaha around 10 o’clock Sunday evening. Schmaderer says he has reason to believe he is still in the area.
“Let’s work together. Let’s bring Mr. Clausen back to justice so that we can restore some semblance of calm within the city of Omaha,” said Schmaderer.
Chief Schmaderer says extra patrols are out on the streets and Clausen’s capture is his department’s top priority. He has a message for those helping Clausen hideout.
"You will feel the full effects of the law and you will be apprehended yourself ,” said Schmaderer.
On Saturday night 50-year-old Wanda Minor was arrested for aiding and abetting a fugitive. Authorities say she played a role in getting Clausen out of Lincoln, but would not elaborate since the investigation is ongoing.
