Franklin City Neighbors

Prisoners Escape from Milwaukee County Deputies

Jul 23, 2002

2 convicts escape just outside prison
One caught, one at large after loosening shackles, overwhelming deputy

By JAMES H. BURNETT III
of the Journal Sentinel staff
Last Updated: July 2, 2002

Two prisoners are suspected of using a handcuff key to unlock their shackles before their escape from two Milwaukee County sheriff's deputies Tuesday, just as they were about to be turned over to prison authorities.

One of the prisoners was nabbed after a short foot chase; the other, Michael Kernohan, remained at large late Tuesday.

It was the second time in less than a year that a prisoner escaped Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department custody.

While a frustrated Sheriff David Clarke insisted he wasn't "blaming anyone," he made it clear that he was holding the deputies "responsible."

The escape occurred around 10 a.m. after Deputies Lisa M. Biro-Bauer and Steven E. Karabon had brought a van carrying seven recently sentenced convicts to the entrance of the Waupun Correctional Institution, Clarke and reports say.

All inmates had been handcuffed to belly-chains and shackled with leg irons prior to transport, Clarke said.

However, when Biro-Bauer parked the van and opened the vehicle's side door, an unshackled Kernohan kicked Biro-Bauer in the face and fled on foot.

Cesar Deleon, 19, who also had shed his shackles in the van, tried to flee, too, but Waupun guards who saw the incident quickly captured the convicted armed robber.

Kernohan, 32, a convicted burglar who escaped several years ago from the Burke Correctional Institute in Dodge County, got away. Kernohan had been in Milwaukee County Circuit Court earlier Tuesday for a court appearance on seven armed robbery charges in Milwaukee County. He also faces two armed robbery charges in Winnebago County.

Sheriff's Department records indicate Karabon was suspended for five days without pay in 1996 after another prisoner escaped his custody.

Tuesday, he was walking from the passenger side of the van to assist Biro-Bauer in unloading the prisoners when the escape occurred.

Bill Clausius, a spokesman for the state Department of Corrections, said Waupun's design doesn't allow arriving prisoners to be driven inside a secure garage or sally port.

Instead, Clausius said, prisoner transports are usually parked on a city street in front of the Waupun prison, and prisoners are led by officers about 10 feet to the entrance of the prison.

Clarke said an internal investigation was ongoing.

At a news conference, Clarke added that his sense was that there had been "a little bit of complacency and a lack of communication between these two deputies."

Other recent incidents such as the December escape of convicted killer DeCarlos Young from the Milwaukee County Jail and the May shootout inside a Milwaukee County courtroom have Clarke "extremely concerned," he said.

He defended the deputies Tuesday, saying they were caught off guard, but he also said he feared that if a complacent attitude sweeps the department, it "could cost somebody their life eventually."

Deputies need to remember that a felon who has just been sentenced to a lengthy prison term has "nothing to lose" and could act out at any time, Clarke said.

"We in law enforcement cannot afford to be lulled into a false sense of security," he said, explaining that "a deputy opening the door to a transport van shouldn't stand directly in front of the door. It's basic training that you stand off to the side."

Clarke acknowledged that many handcuff keys are universal and work on other sets of handcuffs and shackles. But he insisted that even if the investigations revealed that Kernohan or Deleon had smuggled a key into the van, the problem that prompted their escape was apparent "human error."

"This is not a situation where we had a malfunctioning of equipment," he said. "This is an operational problem."

There are three correctional facilities in Dodge County, Clausius said. Waupun is the oldest prison in the state.

Reporters Gina Barton and Tania RuizdeLuzuriaga in Milwaukee contributed to the report.

Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on July 3, 2002.