Republished January 24, 2019 - 12:25 PM
Original Publication Date January 24, 2019 - 11:11 AM
ST. CLAIR, Ala. - A man serving life in prison on human-trafficking charges escaped from a maximum-security prison in north Alabama, officials said Thursday.
Corey Aris Davis, 30, was discovered missing from his cell at the St. Clair Correctional Facility during a security check about 8 p.m. Wednesday, the Department of Corrections said in a statement.
Davis was assigned to a work detail inside the prison and other inmates and prison workers saw him during the day, the statement said. Investigators are at the prison trying to determine how he got out.
The inmate was sentenced to life in prison in 2017 for two charges of human trafficking in Lauderdale County, records show, and authorities were searching for Davis in the Tennessee Valley county following a possible sighting.
A court document shows prosecutors dismissed charges including sexual torture, rape, sodomy, kidnapping and burglary as Davis pleaded guilty.
Davis previously served time on charges that included theft, arson, burglary and breaking and entering a vehicle. State officials sought a life sentence under Alabama's habitual offender law.
One of Alabama's larger prisons, the lockup in St. Clair County has beds for 1,075 inmates, according to a statistical report from October. Inmate advocates have complained about problems at the prison including violence and security lapses.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019