THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 6, 1995 TAG: 9507060397
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARA STANLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
A 63-year-old sheriff's deputy who was disarmed and handcuffed to a chain-link fence by a prisoner last month has been fired, a sheriff's department spokesman said Wednesday.
Chester V. Haas Jr. had allowed two prisoners to escape from him this year, said sheriff's spokesman George C. Schaefer.
``Our attitude here is that you transport the prisoners, and you don't let them escape,'' Schaefer said. ``That is a serious breach of public safety when you have an inmate escape.''
Haas was fired Monday after an administrative leave that followed the escape, Schaefer said. A transportation sergeant in the sheriff's office also was disciplined, he said. His name and the nature of the action against him were not released.
The prisoner, Terrance L. Agnew, eluded capture for almost 36 hours after he escaped on June 21.
He stole another car at gunpoint during the hours he was free, police said.
Haas should have placed a waist chain on Agnew, and departmental regulations called for two deputies to accompany Agnew, Schaefer said.
The first prisoner who escaped while in Haas' custody did so in March. A female prisoner crawled through a restroom window at Norfolk Community Hospital, Schaefer said. She was caught about 15 minutes later.
``The past did enter into it (the firing) as well,'' Schaefer said. ``He was given the option to resign, but he did not choose that.''
Haas was overpowered as he took Agnew, an inmate in the Hampton City Jail, from a probation violation hearing in Norfolk Circuit Court back to Hampton.
Agnew stole the deputy's .38-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver and forced him to drive back to Norfolk.
It is believed Agnew freed himself from handcuffs and leg irons, using a key that he kept between the sole and the upper part of a basketball shoe he was wearing, Schaefer said.
A Plexiglas security barrier that could be opened only from the front seat separated Agnew from Haas. Schaefer said Haas maintained it was closed but Agnew said it was opened.
Agnew left the deputy chained to a fence not far from Military Circle Shopping Center and took off in the Sheriff's Department car.
Haas was freed about 45 minutes later after a pedestrian heard his calls for help.
Agnew stole another car at gunpoint and eluded capture for almost 36 hours.
Haas had worked for the department a total of 12 years, Schaefer said.
He joined the department in 1978, left to be a police dispatcher in 1987, then returned in 1992.
Schaefer could not say whether Haas will receive his pension.
KEYWORDS: NORFOLK SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT by CNB