Jail inmate walks away from 'Halfway Out' program

By Shauna Smith

April 7, 2006 | LOGAN -- A Cache County inmate escaped from jail after spending only a week and a half on the premises.

Dallas Dirrick, 25, was participating in the Halfway Out and Back program. He originally served time in the Utah State Prison in Draper.

Logan being his home town, Dirrick was sent to the Cache County Jail to participate in the program.

The Halfway Out program is used as a transition to normal life for inmates, so they don't go straight from prison to "the streets," said deputy and work release coordinator Joseph Pierson.

The program enabled Dirrick to be released for 4 hours a day to search for a job. Once he found a job he would be released from jail on parole

and be able to live wherever he wanted. His first day on the job hunt, he never returned and has been missing for 6 days.

Dirrick has a previous history of trying to escape from Adult Parole and

Probation officers, and Pierson said although it's not common for inmates to escape while on work release, Dirrick's disappearance was no surprise.

"The vast majority of people that go on this program do fairly well," Pierson said. "Twenty-five to 40 leave and come back every day."

The AP & P are currently searching for Dirrick using a network of people, like family and friends in the area. Instead of just being let out on parole, Dirrick will now face two new felony charges, said Pierson. One could be from zero to 5 years in jail and the other could be from one to 15 years in prison.

NW
MS