A man who escaped Monday from a Southwest Washington jail by impersonating a cellmate due to be released was found in the Scappoose area Wednesday, the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office said.
Brian Roman’s escape happened after a corrections officer at the county jail in Longview went to fetch one of Roman’s cellmates, who was being released Monday. All three people, including 26-year-old Roman, were asleep in the cell when the officer approached.
When the officer called for the man, Roman answered instead, the sheriff’s office said. Jail staff said the two men looked alike.
Roman, who was in jail on a charge of possessing drugs with the intent to distribute, followed the officer out of the cell and signed paperwork in the other man’s name. He also accepted the other man’s belongings, including his keys, ID and debit card. Then he walked out of the jail.
No one noticed the error until the man who was supposed to be released asked when he would get out.
The sheriff’s office released no details about how they found Roman. He was taken into custody around 3 p.m., they said.
