Arrest warrant issued for Alabama corrections officer who allegedly helped inmate escape
An Alabama corrections officer either allowed or helped an accused killer escape prison, officials now believe.
A warrant for permitting or facilitating escape in the first degree has been issued for Vicki White, the 56-year-old assistant director of corrections for Lauderdale County, Sheriff Rick Singleton announced Monday.
White took inmate Casey White, no relation, out of his cell at Lauderdale County Jail around 9:30 a.m. Friday and said she was taking him to the Lauderdale County Courthouse for a mental health evaluation, then was going to seek medical attention for herself because she wasn’t feeling well.
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Neither the court appearance nor the medical appointment appear to have been real, Singleton said Saturday.
Asked if it was possibly that Vicki White was threatened or coerced into helping Casey White escape, Singleton said Monday that she ”willingly participated.”
Vicki White had filed paperwork to retire Friday and had recently sold her house, the sheriff said.
“I think from the sell of her house, she possibly had access to some cash,” he said.
Investigators are currently following leads on a possible vehicle that Vicki and Casey White are traveling in, Singleton said, but nothing has panned out so far. He does not believe they have made it to Mexico or Canada.
Casey White, 38, was awaiting trial for two counts of capital murder for the murder-for-hire stabbing death of 58-year-old Connie Ridgeway, for which he had confessed.
He was already serving 75 years in prison for a 2015 multi-state crime spree that began when he showed up at his ex-girlfriend’s house and fired repeatedly, killing a dog, according to AL.com. Two children were inside, while his ex and two men escaped. After the shooting, White fled on foot, then stole a car and tried to carjack a semi. He also fired repeatedly into a woman’s car when she refused to get out; she was injured but survived. He surrendered after a standoff with police.
In October 2020, Casey White was allegedly planning a prison break but was thwarted when officials found a homemade knife in his possession and determined that he had been planning to take a hostage to help him escape. He was moved to a state prison, then back to Lauderdale County Jail earlier this year to facilitate his court appearances.
Both Vicki and Casey White are considered armed and dangerous, officials said.
Casey White is listed at 6′9″ and 260 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes.
Vicki White is listed at 5′5″ and 160 pounds, with brown eyes and blond or strawberry blond hair.
Anyone who sees either is urged not to approach them but instead call the US Marshals Service’s Communications Center at 1-800-336-0102.
A reward of up to $10,000 has been offered.
