WHITE CLOUD, Mich. — Three men are facing federal charges after investigators say they attempted to break out of the Newaygo County Jail.
Timothy Calicutt, Victor Garcia and Jaron Morgan are all charged with conspiring to escape custody and aiding and abetting an attempted escape.
According to court documents, investigators say Calicutt, Garcia and Morgan conspired to enter a locked utility hatch and a hole in the drywall in the ceiling of their cell and used improvised tools and contraband to damage the building in an attempt to escape.
Court documents state that the defendants would hold up a blanket in an attempt to hide their actions from the surveillance camera in their cell.
Investigators say the suspects fashioned tools to use in their escape from wood, metal, a pipe and other items they had access to in their cell and the maintenance hatch above.
Court documents state Calicutt laid on his back on a top bunk bed and used his feet to press on the ceiling beneath the area where the suspects attempted their escape. The documents say Garcia held up a blanket to hide Calicutt from the surveillance camera while he entered the hatch on September 28.
The men would take turns holding the blanket and entering the hatch at least seven more times in October, the documents allege.
Court documents state that while in the interior space above the ceiling of the cell, the inmates cut and damaged ductwork, a brick wall and a plywood wall.
Garcia attempted to file a lawsuit against the Newaygo County Jail back in 2015 for alleged mistreatment inside the facility. He claimed, among other things, that his legs were swollen after being left in shackles over night.
Morgan, who is being held on gun and drug charges, recently filed a motion in his own case asking for a reduced sentence, while acknowledging his alleged involvement in the possible escape attempt.
His attorney writing in the filing, "Mr. Morgan is allegedly one of the inmates on video who had climbed into the ceiling area."
If convicted, each charge carries a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment and $250,000 in fines.
Read the full indictment below:
Newaygo Jail Break Indictment by WXMI on Scribd
