Inmate charged in attempted jailbreak - abc27 WHTM

Authorities have filed criminal charges against a Dauphin County Prison inmate accused of damaging a jail cell wall during an attempted escape.

Andthony Ray Spears, 25, of Harrisburg, was charged Friday with third-degree felony counts of attempted escape, criminal mischief, and intimidation of a witness, according to online court documents.

Spears, who has a criminal record with numerous burglaries, allegedly used a steel support rod from his cell desk chair to chip away at the wall under his bed.

According to the criminal complaint, Spears was able to break through the first layer of cement block on the inside of the exterior wall and had covered the hole with a legal paper box.

The steel rod was kept hidden in a closed light fixture when Spears was not working at the wall, and he had fashioned a brass object as a key to open the light fixture, according to the complaint.

The attempted breakout triggered a lockdown and restricted visitation at the prison when it was discovered Tuesday. Spears began working on the hole Sunday, the document states.

Authorities in the complaint said that Spears also threatened to kill the family of his cellmate when he got out of prison if the cellmate told corrections officers about the hole he was working on.