3 arrested in connection with escape of convicted kidnapper from SC prison

Three people have been arrested in connection with the escape of a state inmate who used wire cutters to slice through four fences and gain his freedom from one of South Carolina’s maximum-security prisons.

Lareece Rosier, 54, Benjamin Fredrick Bevier, 34, and Robert Wayne Williams were arrested in connection with the escape of 46-year-old Jimmy Causey, said Sommer Sharpe, spokeswoman for the S.C. Department of Corrections.

Rosier and Bevier are being held at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, according to jail records. It’s unclear where Williams is being detained.

Rosier is accused of sending money several times between May and June through Western Union from a Columbia-area Walmart at Causey’s request, the warrant stated. Causey paid Rosier, who knew the money would be used in a future escape, according to the warrant.

Bevier was arrested on charges of obstruction of justice and accessory after the fact. Bevier is accused of giving his truck to Williams at a convenience store. The warrant states that on July 6 an officer went to Bevier’s home searching for Causey. Though Bevier denied knowing where Causey was, investigators learned that Bevier allowed his 1995 Chevrolet truck to be used in the aiding of Causey’s escape, the warrant states.

Williams is facing charges of aiding an escape for picking up Causey after he made his way from the prison, the warrant stated. Williams is accused of driving Causey to a motel in Cayce.

Causey used a makeshift dummy to dupe corrections officers into believing he was still in his bed at Lieber Correctional Institution, said Bryan Stirling, director of the S.C. Department of Corrections, when Causey was arrested. He then used contraband wire cutters to slice through four fences at the maximum-security Lowcountry prison.

When Causey was arrested at a Motel 6 room in Austin, Texas, on July 7, he had $47,654 in cash, along with a semiautomatic pistol and a pump-action shotgun, said Mark Keel, chief of the State Law Enforcement Division, whose agents worked to catch the fugitive.

The investigation into Causey’s escape is continuing, Sharpe said. Since he was returned to South Carolina, Causey has been held at Kirkland Correctional Institution near the Harbison area, according to agency records.

This story was originally published July 20, 2017 at 2:06 PM with the headline "3 arrested in connection with escape of convicted kidnapper from SC prison."