The Badger Herald

NEWS

Sheriff hunts for walk-out inmate

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by Courtney Johnson

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

A Dane County Jail inmate was declared missing Thursday morning after leaving the facility for a planned job search.

Leesha Lustgraaf, 21, was serving a sentence for possession of cocaine with intent to deliver, when she left the Ferris Center on Rimrock Road in Madison and did not return at her scheduled time.

According to Lt. Shawn Haney of the sheriff’s office, it is not uncommon for inmates performing job searches to go AWOL.

“It does happen,” Haney said. “It happens a couple times a week, at least.”

And as Assistant District Attorney Mike Verveer added, escape is a common charge in Dane County.

“We do charge people on a regular basis with the felony crime of escape with their Huber privileges,” Verveer said.

According to Verveer, people who flee while on Huber privileges can be gone for years, and he said some even flee the state.

Lustgraaf’s job search is part of the privileges she receives as a member of the Huber program. Inmates with these privileges who have jobs are confined to their homes or prisons, but can leave in order to work.

When allowed to leave their facilities for job searches, Huber inmates are mostly on the honor system when it comes to their activities, Haney said. They are required to return with a form signed by their prospective employer, proving they had a job interview.

A temporary warrant has been issued for Lustgraaf’s arrest, and her name has been entered into the sheriff’s computer. If stopped by any police official, she will come up as a missing inmate.

Haney said he is optimistic Lustgraaf will be found or return.

“A lot of them come back on their own later, and then we’ve found out they’ve been drinking or using controlled substances,” he said. “Most of them aren’t gone very long.”

Lustgraaf is described as white with blond hair. She is 5-foot-3 and weighs 150 pounds. Anyone with information about Lustgraaf or her whereabouts is asked to call 911.

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