Four Ohio prison employees placed leave during probe into inmates' escape

Four Ohio prison employees, including a corrections major and three corrections officers, have been placed on paid administrative leave while an investigation is conducted into the escape of two inmates from the Allen/Oakwood Correctional Institution in Lima, Allen County, earlier this week. Maj. Carl Bendross and corrections officers Tre'mon Glenn-Crawford, Lain Patterson and Taylor Robey are on paid administrative leave, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Other prison employees may be placed on leave as a criminal investigation by the State Highway Patrol continues along with an internal ODRC investigation, prisons spokeswoman JoEllen Smith wrote in a news release. Inmates Bradley Gillespie and James Lee escaped the prison by hiding in a dumpster, according to the ODRC. Lee was captured in Kentucky, but Gillespie, a convicted murderer, remained at large as of Saturday. Gillespie, 50, was convicted of murder in Paulding County in 2016. He should be considered armed and dangerous, and the public is advised not to approach him, but to call 911. Anyone with information on Gillespie is encouraged to contact the highway patrol's Findlay post at (419) 423-1414 or the U.S. Marshals Service at (866) 4WANTED. Authorities are offering a $20,000 reward for Gillespie's capture.