Nellis attempts to stop escapes

A California man indicted last week on a federal escape charge is one of 10 men who have escaped from the Federal Prison Camp at Nellis Air Force Base within the past 20 months.

Joseph Dean Moyer was indicted for walking away from the prison camp on Feb. 20, 1997. Moyer had been sentenced in Southern California on a charge of manufacturing methamphetamine.

Since January 1998, 10 inmates have walked away from the 10-year-old minimum security prison, Jeryl Kochera, prison camp spokeswoman, said.

"To us, that's a lot," Kochera said.

Steps have been taken to minimize the chances for escape, she said.

The Nellis facility no longer accepts Immigration and Naturalization Service prisoners because they have more reason to flee, Kochera said. The Bureau of Prisons also won't assign prisoners with a history of escape to Nellis, and they can't be wanted by other jurisdictions, either.

Kochera said part of the problem is that because the federal prison system nationally is overcrowded the bureau has changed its prisoner classification system over the past three years.

People who formerly weren't eligible for minimum security facilities are now being placed in such facilities, Kochera said, adding that those people present greater escape risks.

Still, those housed at Nellis are traditionally nonviolent, first-time offenders, Kochera said. Most are white-collar criminals, but some are drug offenders.

There are 435 prisoners at Nellis ranging in age from 19 to 70, Kochera said. They are housed in two dormitories that are not locked at night because of the potential for fires, Kochera said.

Two hundred of the prisoners work at the Air Force base, most of them in a janitorial capacity, Kochera said. The others are also required to put in seven-hour work days, but they do so around the prison camp itself.

Prisoners can make anywhere from 12 cents to 44 cents an hour, Kochera said.

Head counts are frequent, Kochera said.

There is a lock-down count of prisoners at 4 p.m. and supervisors are required to physically see their charges every two hours and document such sightings, Kochera said. In addition, the prisoners are counted at 10 p.m., midnight, 3 a.m. and 5 a.m.

Kochera said there is a six-to-one prisoner-to-staff ratio at the prison.

There are no guard towers at the facility and the only fence is the one surrounding the entire base, Kochera said.

"Anytime, if an inmate decides, he can walk," but most of the inmates realize that would be the wrong choice, Kochera said.

Those who escape from federal facilities and are recaptured can be sentenced up to an additional five years, Kochera said. Moreover, Las Vegas offers a great deal for out-of-town family members who come to visit.

"If you have to go to prison, this is a good place to be," Kochera said.

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