Inmate's escape plan thwarted

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- A Charleston inmate's plan to escape was foiled when a jail employee saw his shadow and alerted a security officer.

Darrell A. Irish, 37, an inmate at the Mississippi County Jail, is charged with attempting to escape while in custody, according to court records.

"Our board that operates the doors had a glitch in it, and his cell door buzzed, and he knew he could get out and went into the property room," said Mississippi County Sheriff Keith Moore.

In the property room, which is in a secure part of the facility, Irish got into the personal property of another inmate and put on a hooded sweatshirt, Moore said. Irish then waited for a secured door to be opened.

But Irish's plan was ruined when a dispatcher saw his movement and shadow and called an officer, Moore said.

Bond is set at $250,000 cash or surety.

Irish is in jail on charges of felony first-degree statutory sodomy and first-degree child molestation.

In August, he also was charged on one felony count of delivery or possession of a weapon at a county/private jail and one felony count of damage to jail/jail property. The bond on these charges is $50,000. On a charge of sexual misconduct filed since his incarceration, bond is set at $1,000. He is scheduled to be arraigned on these charges at 1 p.m. Jan. 8.

Pertinent address:

Charleston, Mo.