By Zachary R. Dowdy
Newsday
SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y. — A Suffolk County jail inmate who appeared to be lying on his bed looking a bit too sleepy and stiff during a random “shakedown” in his pod yesterday turned out to be a phony prop: clothes stuffed with newspaper to look like the inmate was in his cell, officials said.
The “decoy,” which could have meant that an inmate was trying to escape, promoted a lockdown of the pod and a search of the jail for the inmate, Wayne Leibold, 41, of Farmingdale, who was quickly found working in another area of the jail.
But Leibold, whose attorney could not be reached for comment, now faces disciplinary action, said Sheriff Vincent DeMarco.
“Maybe he was planning on leaving and when the count came they would count that decoy as a body,” DeMarco said, adding that Leibold was located within three minutes of the discovery of the stuffed sweatpants, shirt and mop that was propped on the pile to resemble his head.
The jail conducts “counts” throughout the day to account for each inmate’s whereabouts.
DeMarco said the apparent ruse was discovered during a random shakedown, a search operation conducted by the Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team to examine cells for contraband materials.
Usually, if the officers find anything, it ranges from homemade weapons, like shanks, to stashes of jail-made wine or drugs smuggled in from outside.
An officer who was conducting the shakedown walked into the cell, shook the pile of clothes, found Leibold wasn’t there and immediately alerted authorities, DeMarco said.
“He went to wake him and realized right away that it wasn’t an inmate,” DeMarco said.
Leibold hasn’t been charged with a crime or violation yet, DeMarco said, adding that Leibold was in jail on convictions of aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and driving while intoxicated.
He was due to be released in about 30 days, DeMarco said.
“That’s what’s bizarre about this,” DeMarco said. “Everybody thinks someone facing life in jail or some heavy time would be more apt to try to escape.”
The incident is under investigation to determine whether other people were involved, DeMarco said.
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