A 71-year-old man was arrested Tuesday for allegedly helping a detainee escape from the St. Louis City Justice Center on Sunday, as jail officials acknowledged security failures and began reviewing procedures to prevent another escape.
William Mapes is charged with hindering prosecution of a felony after Maurio Thomas, 29, escaped through the second-floor ceiling of the jail early Sunday. Police said Thomas had been led into the room after asking to make a phone call. He escaped through an alley behind the jail.
Thomas was captured about 14 hours later near Tesson Ferry Road and Heritage Drive in Affton, in south St. Louis County.
St. Louis Police Chief Robert Tracy credited St. Louis County’s drone program and license plate readers with helping investigators locate Thomas, who was arrested without incident and was unarmed.
Police on Tuesday did not immediately disclose how Mapes allegedly helped Thomas escape or evade authorities.
Before his escape, Thomas had been charged with breaking into a woman’s home twice and sexually assaulting her. Police said he confessed to the crimes, according to court records. He is being held without bond on two counts of first-degree burglary and two counts of first-degree sodomy.
An additional charge of escape from confinement was filed Monday.
Jail employees initially believed Thomas was still in the second-floor ceiling, prompting police and firefighters to work to reach him. But surveillance footage obtained about 3:15 a.m. showed he had escaped the building roughly two hours earlier.
Jail officials acknowledged Tuesday that the facility’s alarm system failed to sound and officers were not watching Thomas when he escaped.
Contractors are assessing why the alarm did not activate, and officials are reviewing the building’s exits.
Jail spokesman Brett DeLaria said officers are being retrained and potential disciplinary action is under review. Staffing was limited Sunday, with about 15 officers in the building while several others were out on a medical run.
“I think the biggest thing that the director has iterated in his own interviews is that this was a procedural failure,” DeLaria said. “If the officers would have kept their eyes on him and been with him when he was making that phone call, this would not have happened.”
Jail officials said Tuesday it was too early to determine whether building upgrades would be necessary.
St. Louis American staff contributed to this report.