Champaign man remains at large from facility

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NELSONVILLE – A Champaign County man was the last of three inmates on the loose from an Ohio correctional facility as of Tuesday afternoon.

Troy Byrd, 29, of Urbana, had not been apprehended by authorities as of Tuesday afternoon after escaping from the SEPTA Correctional Facility, Nelsonville, on Saturday.

An incident report on Byrd’s escape states at 7:32 p.m. on Saturday a resident monitor reported hearing the fence in a small recreation yard rattling. At 7:34 p.m., Byrd entered the small recreation yard and climbed a fence that faces a large recreation yard.

A press release from the facility on the escape states Byrd was last seen wearing a blue hoodie with blue jeans and has a tattoo on his neck.

Byrd was the third offender to escape from the facility, as two other offenders escaped last week.

An official at the facility said Justin D. Stanley, 25, was caught Monday in Newark. Stanley and David G. Skeens, 30, escaped from the 112-bed facility early Saturday while Byrd escaped hours later. Skeens was arrested Saturday morning in Heath.

The release also states Skeens was sentenced to the facility from Licking County on charges of felonious assault while Stanley was sentenced to the facility from Fairfield County on charges of burglary.

Due to the escapes, the facility has partnered with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections to conduct a vulnerability assessment study. Additional staffing levels have been implemented to deter future incidents.

People with questions or information that could lead to an arrest were asked to contact the city of Nelsonville Police Department at 740-753-1922 or SEPTA Correctional Facility at 740-753-5000.

According to the facility’s website, SEPTA Correctional Facility is a regional community based correctional facility housing 112 adult male felony offenders who are eligible for probation.

Byrd sentence followed judicial release

Byrd was originally indicted by a Champaign County grand jury in October 2015 on one count each of possession of heroin, a fifth degree felony, and misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and obstructing official business. He pleaded guilty to possession of heroin and resisting arrest in November 2015.

Byrd was sentenced to 11 months in prison in December 2015 for these charges and an additional year was added as the court determined he was under post-release control for a 2013 criminal case when he committed the offense making for a total 23-month prison sentence.

A motion for judicial release was filed on Byrd’s behalf in March 2016.

A journal entry filed on April 22, 2016, denied Byrd’s motion for judicial release. A journal entry filed on April 25, 2016, states there was an error in the court’s initial finding and now found Byrd was eligible for judicial release.

Judicial release was granted on June 24, 2016, and Byrd was placed on community control for a period of three years.

A report and order suspending community control filed in January stated Byrd was not available for supervision because his whereabouts were unknown. A capias was issued for his arrest.

A notice of supervision violation filed on Feb. 23 stated Byrd violated community control supervision by changing his residence without permission, testing positive for multiple drugs, failing to complete the West Central Probation Incentive Program, and failed to complete counseling as ordered and failed to observe a court imposed curfew.

During a hearing held on March 7, Byrd was returned to community control under the conditions that he gain admission to and complete the SEPTA Community Based Correctional Facility residential program and complete any aftercare programming to be completed upon release from the facility.

A journal entry filed on March 10 stated Byrd was accepted to the facility and was to be transported there on March 14.

By Nick Walton

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Nick Walton can be reached at 937-652-1331 Ext. 1777 or on Twitter @UDCWalton.

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