Man sentenced for jail escape

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A Pinewood man who escaped from the Clarendon County Detention Center in early September has pleaded guilty for the offense. Third Circuit Judge R. Ferrell Cothran sentenced Bobby Dean Childers Jr. of 2190 Corbett Road in Pinewood to five years in prison, suspended to four months in jail and two years' probation on Nov. 2. Childers pleaded guilty that same day to escape, attempted escape or possessing tools to escape from prison and being recaptured in state. According to the Manning Police Department, Childers was charged Sept. 6 with escape from prison or detention center after leaving the jail and leading law enforcement on a two-hour manhunt throughout the downtown area. Police Chief Blair Shaffer said that Childers was found at a home on S.C. 260 near Clarendon Gas. The suspect allegedly told law enforcement that he escaped because he was hungry. “He said that they had food at the jail, but it wasn’t enough for him,” Shaffer said. Childers was able to escape, Shaffer said, due to his role as a trustee at the jail. “A trustee is someone who hasn’t caused problems at the jail, who has been trustworthy and isn’t a violent offender,” said Shaffer. “They can even leave the jail on certain tasks and go work for county offices like the Sheriff’s Office or other facilities doing menial work. But they have to have good behavior and not be violent offenders.” Shaffer said that Childers was working up front near the facility when he took off. He added that Childers was at the facility for a bench warrant for possession of marijuana. Childers was represented by Clarendon County Public Defender Scott Lamar Robinson, while 3rd Circuit Assistant Solicitor Christopher R. DuRant represented the state's case.