CLEARFIELD – A man who escaped the Quehanna Boot Camp last week was in court to answer for his actions Wednesday.
Joshua D. Lackey, 35, is charged with two felony counts of escape as well as a felony count of criminal use of a communication facility.
Originally, he was denied bail, but bail was set at $250,000 after he waived his right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday during centralized court. His case now moves on to the Court of Common Pleas for further disposition.
Police say they were notified on July 5 at 1:51 a.m. by staff at SCI Quehanna that Lackey had escaped by running out a fire escape door and into the woods surrounding the facility.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, officials reviewed Lackey’s phone calls prior to his escape and discovered Lackey had called his girlfriend to make arrangements for her to pick him up.
Troopers were able to find and recapture Lackey a short distance away from the facility.
In an interview with investigators, Lackey admitted to talking to his girlfriend and asking for her to give him a ride.
After he ran out of the door, he said went to the road in front of the facility, but she was not there waiting for him.
He then ran into the wooded area where he waited until police captured him, he told them.
Online court documents indicate that in March, Lackey was sentenced in Westmoreland County to 18 to 36 months in state prison for felony theft. His previous record includes resisting arrest, assault, drug and paraphernalia charges.
Lackey was at the Quehanna Boot Camp as a participant in the state drug treatment program.