WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — UPDATE: Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo confirms that Billy Partington is back in county custody at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility.
Original story:
A mix-up involving half-brothers at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility led to the wrong man being released last week.
According to county authorities, last Friday, Billy Partington, 30, a convicted inmate serving a sentence in the prison in Wilkes-Barre on drug charges, was brought to the booking area.
Billy's half-brother, Drake Partington, was supposed to be the one brought there for release.
Drake Partington was charged with criminal trespass, terroristic threats, simple assault, and harassment and had posted bail.
Billy claimed he lost his ID. Staff compared Billy's appearance to his half-brother Drake's booking photo by looking in the files.
Authorities say Billy misrepresented himself as Drake, signed a release form as Drake, put on Drake's clothes, and was released from the jail. He is now charged with escape.
Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo declined to comment while the investigation of the matter is ongoing.
"Once those investigations are completed, I will provide more specific information. I want to respect law enforcement's investigation," Crocamo said.
In July 2022, inmate Robert Vargo from Berwick walked away from a prison work detail. He was captured about a week later in South Carolina. Vargo was later sent to federal prison for threatening President Joe Biden and other officials.
In 2018, Shaheen Mackey, an inmate at the prison, died after what was termed "a scuffle" with correctional officers. An investigation found no wrongdoing by authorities at the jail, according to the district attorney's office. Luzerne City Council voted to approve a $3 million settlement for Mackey's family in 2020.
In 2016, Correctional Officer Kristopher Moules, 25, and inmate Timothy Gilliam got into an altercation on the fifth floor of the Luzerne County Correctional Facility. The two slammed into a closed elevator door. It opened, and they fell nearly 60 feet to their deaths.
In 2003, murder suspect Hugo Selenski escaped from the facility using a string of bed sheets to scale down the prison wall. He then covered razor wire with a mattress and climbed over to freedom.