Logan
County sheriff Steven Nichols says that his office will review security procedures
after a convicted burglar fled the courthouse on Wednesday afternoon.
Daron
Mauney, who has a long criminal history, was facing revocation of probation on
a burglary conviction when he ran. He remained at large on Thursday morning.
“My
guys chased him, but he outran us,” Nichols said. “I’m
going to look at it and see if there was something we could have done to
prevent it. We’ll take a look at it and see if there needs to be some
revisions.”
Nichols
said that Mauney fled after Logan County Associate Judge Bill Workman ordered
him taken into custody. “When he stepped out of the courtroom, he bolted,”
Nichols said.
Nichols
said that he doesn’t consider Mauney to be dangerous. “He’s been in town his
whole life,” Nichols said. “I would say he’s always been involved in small
criminal things. … He made his appearance and didn’t want to go back to jail.”
Court
records show that Mauney, who was born in 1995, has a criminal record dating to
2013, when he faced misdemeanor charges of theft and trespassing. In addition to
a felony burglary conviction for which probation was revoked on Wednesday, he has
also faced a felony charge of theft, as well as misdemeanor charges of
resisting police and trespassing.
Mauney’s
escape marks the second time in recent months that a defendant has fled or
attempted to flee the Logan County courthouse. In June, Jessy Bialeschki, who
was facing four felony charges that included criminal sexual assault and domestic
battery, tried to bolt as he was being found guilty of contempt of court after
failing a drug test. After scuffling with court security officers, he was
tackled and subdued with the help of a defense attorney who was in the courtroom
on another matter. He is now facing three felony battery charges in connection
with the incident. Bialeschki and a security officer were both injured during
the melee and required hospitalization.
Nichols
said that the two incidents aren’t comparable. For one thing, he said,
Bialeschki was under the influence of drugs when he attempted to flee.
“In
all honesty, it’s two totally different situations,” Nichols said.
Contact Bruce Rushton at brushton@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Sep 14-20, 2017.
