Unauthorized Vacation: Wild, Weird, and True Story of Escape and Manhunt

The intercom crackled with the announcement: “Spratt.  Bag and Baggage”.  Spratt went to the glass partition separating the inmates from the officers and asked where he was going.  “Puerto Rico”.  ‘For what?!”  “I think they want you for a murder charge.”  “Murder!?!  I don’t know anything about a murder!”  “Well, you tell them that when you get down there.”  “How are you going to send me from Idaho to Puerto Rico without an extradition hearing?”  “That doesn’t involve me”, replied the arrogant female officer, “it’s just my job to make sure you get delivered to the airport.”  “I’m not going!”  “Get away from my window and start packing or you will be going to the ‘hole’”.  “Well, the hole is better than going to Puerto Rico on a murder charge…I will not pack up!”  The bitch called somebody on the radio and said something unintelligible but the anger was clear on her face; she wasn’t accustomed to an inmate refusing a direct order.

“Lock Down!  Lock Down! Lock Down” was the order screamed over the intercom.  Even the most hardened inmates groaned at that as it meant that they had to go to their cell and miss the drama being played out or risk the chance of going to the hole themselves.  Reluctantly, all of the inmates except for Spratt went to their cells and slammed their doors.  Tussling could be heard behind the doors of the cells that had two occupants as they both wanted to have the best view of the action from their cell door window.  Spratt was the solitary inmate left in the dayroom.

The CERT team is a bunch of regular officers that get dressed in black uniforms and helmets whenever a ‘crisis’ arises.  They march in a practiced manner that includes stomping their boots on the ground in a synchronized manner in an attempt to be loud and intimidating.  They are kind of scary to new inmates or the casual observer as they appear to be some type of monstrous caterpillar with about ten heads covered in black helmets that obscure their faces and electrified shields that protect their torsos.  Spratt had been through this before though and he knew that this cadre was just made up ‘on the fly’ with whatever officer was available.  He also knew that the entire event would be filmed by the Sergeant and that, if he didn’t cross The Line, no harm would come to him.

The Line is a point in time after an inmate is confronted by the CERT team and continues to disobey their orders that physical violence can be used to restrain the inmate.  There is no certain definition of when the line is crossed but can only be sensed by the experienced inmate and officers depending on the intensity of each given situation.  The Line is dynamic but has recently swayed further away from the inmate due to multitudes of lawsuits against officers that crossed The Line too quickly.  Some have been held personally liable so a lot of newer officers are hesitant to cross the line and risk losing everything they have worked for solely because an inmate wants to let off a little steam; better to let him vent a while and then take action if he doesn’t calm down.

Spratt was ordered to “Cuff Up!!” several times but stood his ground until he saw that he was getting very close to The Line and finally turned around to be handcuffed.  The ‘caterpillar’ then became individual ‘gorillas’ as the testosterone level rose tremendously with another ‘victory’.  Spratt was escorted to the ‘hole’ with a gorilla in front, two on each side holding his elbows so tight that his lower arm was getting numb, and followed by several gorillas that didn’t really have anything else to do but try to continue an intimidating presence.

Spratt was taken to a solitary cell, strip searched, dressed in an orange jump suit and transferred to a wing of single cells with other rebellious prisoners.  He began thinking of escape but it would be practically impossible to escape from his current situation.  Surely he would be put on a plane tomorrow, voluntarily or not, and would soon be in Puerto Rico facing a murder charge (MURDER!  I haven’t murdered anybody!).  The Sergeant in charge of the ‘hole’ came and informed Spratt that he would leave around 4:00am for the airport and it could be done the easy way or the hard way.  Spratt knew that the hard way was to be completely immobilized for the trip.  Spratt asked what the outstanding charges in Puerto Rico were and the Sergeant confirmed that they were for Murder.  “But Sarge, I haven’t murdered anybody…I’m not that kind of criminal.”  “All I can do Spratt is tell you to trust the legal system.  If you are innocent then you will be acquitted.  It is not my job to judge you; just to make sure that you get on that plane.  Are you going to go the easy way or the hard way?”  “I’ll go the easy way Sarge.”  “See you in the morning, Spratt.”

Spratt paced the cell all night long trying to figure a way out of this.  He knew that he had committed a lot of frauds in Puerto Rico but never got close to any crime even remotely resembling murder.  He knew some nefarious persons in Puerto Rico that had committed those types of crimes but his knowledge of this was just academic…he had never participated or known about any of those until after the fact.  Mostly, he thought that some of the thugs that bragged about this type of crime were just making it up.  He also knew of the widespread corruption in the Puerto Rican Police Dept. and wondered if he had ripped off somebody that was now trying to frame him.  He certainly didn’t waste any time at all on the consideration that he would get a fair trial.

Spratt considered all escape opportunities that may present themselves in the immediate future.  Surely there was no hope for escape from the ‘hole’ or even in transit to the Boise airport while in custody of correctional officers.  Would there be a chance to escape at the airport?  Is there a direct flight from Idaho to Puerto Rico?  More than likely a change of planes will be necessary; but where?  Doubtful that any inmate handcuffed and shackled could make an escape from custody at any airport in the United States after 9/11…too much security nowadays.  Spratt had been incarcerated in Puerto Rico before and knew that the security at the prisons there was very lax compared to the prisons in the U.S.  He resigned himself to the fact that his only chance to escape would be once he was settled into a Puerto Rican prison.  He knew the island like the back of his hand and even had people that would help him after he escaped.  Spratt was so certain that he would be successful in gaining freedom once in Puerto Rico that he began working on a plan to get back to the States after his escape.  In order for his plan to work though, he would have to ensure that he wasn’t placed in a maximum security facility.  What would determine his placement would be his demeanor during the trip…be nice and friendly and the cops would take him to a general prison…be mean and combative and the cops would take him to maximum security.  He decided to be as nice and friendly as possible.