Mercer County Sheriff Stephen Stockman has released more information on the inmate from Kansas City who escaped from the Mercer County Jail in Princeton Wednesday. It was the second time in August 27-year-old Drake Kately has been reported as escaping and he has yet to be found by law enforcement.
Stockman says dispatch notified the on-duty deputy and sheriff of Kately missing from his cell after a cell check at 10:30 that night. They found Kately had allegedly broken and bent the metal mesh on the rear side of the cell and slid out between the wall and the cell. He is thought to have exited the building through the boiler room’s old chute door. Stockman previously reported it was believed Kately escaped around 8:30.
The Mercer County Sheriff’s Office received a call at 11 o’clock that Kately was in Humphreys, but he reportedly left for the Kansas City area. The office notified “appropriate agencies”, and officers checked Kately’s known associates for him. It was previously reported the Kansas City Police had been contacted and were helping look for him. The Highway Patrol and sheriff’s offices of Grundy and Sullivan counties have also assisted in the search.
Stockman reports someone took Kately to Humphreys to meet a ride to Kansas City. He confirms Kately did not steal a car and was not at Casey’s General Store last Friday night. Earlier said a search was conducted at a residence in Humphreys Thursday morning, a male was interviewed about the situation, and charges will probably be filed against that person.
Stockman also said he intends to ask for more charges against Kately, including escape, property damage, and evading custody charges. Kately was charged in Mercer County earlier in August with felony escape or attempted escape from custody while under arrest for a felony, with a bond of $15,000 cash only. He also faces charges in Mercer County, including the felonies of first-degree assault or attempt and unlawful possession of a firearm as well as three misdemeanors and an infraction, with bonds totaling $75,000 cash only. Kately is scheduled for the Associate Division of Mercer County Circuit Court Tuesday.
Stockman says an emergency alert was not issued because Kately was already out of the area. He previously said his office did not release information on Wednesday’s escape that night because, in the past, releasing information too early impeded the investigation. He plans for the sheriff’s office to “work harder” in the future to provide information to the public as it sees fit to serve its investigations.
Stockman reports there is not enough tax revenue to adequately staff the sheriff’s office for all of its duties, to fund a new facility, or to house inmates in another county. The current tax revenue covers minor jail expenses, but it does not cover the full cost of the dispatch staff. He says no one wants to fund the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office, and the courts no longer make inmates being held pay for it.
The jail is watched by dispatchers, and dispatchers handle the inmates and Stockman explains dispatchers and deputies focus on responding to calls from the public. Most of the time, there is only one dispatcher and one officer to cover all of Mercer County. Stockman says the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office took down its Facebook page because of changes to record retention by the Missouri Secretary of State. The changes would have meant keeping a record of all posts, any changes to them, and any deletions. Companies will keep track of that information for about $3,000 per year. If a company is not keeping track of the information, and someone requests data, he adds that it can cost the county tens of thousands of dollars in Sunshine Law violation fines.
