Prisoner escape presses need for new Telfair County Jail
TELFAIR COUNTY, Ga. --A Telfair County inmate escaped from the Wheeler County Jail over the weekend, raising concern over the state of the Telfair County Jail.
Seth Allen Vickers, who previously was charged with seven counts of Aggravated Assault on Law Enforcement and Trafficking in Methamphetamine, was being housed in another facility because the Telfair County jail is at capacity.
Vickers was eventually caught in Alabama the same day.
Currently, the Telfair County Jail has 33 beds. When there is an overflow of inmates, some are sent to the Dodge and Wheeler County jails.
Sheriff Chris Steverson said the jail is about 40 years old and plans are in the works to construct a new, state-of-the-art facility.
The facility will cost a little over $5 million and a majority will be funded by the 2009 and 2014 SPLOST.
The new Telfair County jail will house around 60 beds. Steverson hopes the county won't have to house too many overflow inmates then.
Commissioner Charles E. Neal, Jr. said currently, the county pays around $250,000 to house their inmates in other jails.
Neal said the public's safety will increase with the newer, more secure facility.
Steverson said that while the new jail project isn't the most glamorous use of SPLOST funds, it's important to support the initiative to protect the county.
He said the jail should be completed by the end of 2018.
Vickers was caught once he tried to flee with his mother, possibly to Oklahoma.
His mother was charged with hindering apprehension of a criminal.
Steverson said the sheriff's offices are working to extradite Vickers back to Georgia.
From there, he will be taken to a more secure facility.
