DATE: Wednesday, November 26, 1997          TAG: 9711260497

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B7   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 

DATELINE: HAMPTON                           LENGTH:   26 lines

JAIL INMATE CAUGHT WITHIN DAY OF ESCAPE

A bank robbery suspect who escaped from the city jail was caught Tuesday, police said.

David Lee Randall, 29, apparently scaled a 15-foot brick wall topped with razor wire Monday afternoon, said Maj. Karen Bowden, jail administrator.

Police found Randall in a Newport News apartment about 1:15 a.m. Tuesday, Cpl. Jeff Walden said.

Randall was arrested Nov. 14 and charged with two robberies. He was jailed pending a preliminary hearing.

Last week, the state Board of Corrections voted to pull the jail's certification.

Inspectors found nine life, health and safety violations, mostly related to faulty record-keeping. Other problems included the jail's poor plumbing system and chipped paint, and burned-out light bulbs.

Sheriff B.J. Roberts submitted a correction plan last Friday and was given until Dec. 12 to remedy the problems. A copy of the plan was not immediately available.

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