Man convicted for holding his lawyer at gunpoint escapes from prison a second time
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A South Carolina lawyer says he and his family are taking precautions after the man convicted of holding him at gunpoint escaped from prison for a second time.
Authorities on Thursday continued their search for the inmate, 46-year-old Jimmy Causey, who went missing Wednesday afternoon from a maximum security South Carolina prison, the Post and Courier reports. The newspaper had a previous story on the latest escape here; the New York Times, the State and the Associated Press also covered the escape.
Causey was convicted of kidnapping for tying up and holding Columbia lawyer Jack Swerling and his family at gunpoint in 2002. Swerling had previously defended Causey, helping him get reduced prison sentences in two cases in the 1990s.
Causey had tied up the family with duct tape and demanded money. According to testimony at his 2004 trial for the crime, he held a grudge because he got prison time in the two prior cases.
Swerling told the State he and his family feel “quite comfortable” with steps taken to protect them and “everybody is secure.” Still he said, “Naturally, there’s anxiety. This is the guy who robbed me, my wife and my daughter.”
Causey also escaped with another inmate in 2005 by hiding in a dumpster that was carried off the grounds of the Broad River Correctional Institution. He was captured days later as a result of a suspicious pizza delivery driver who delivered an order to the convicts’ hotel room. The driver’s suspicions were relayed to law enforcement, leading to the arrest of the men.
