The Armstrong County District Attorney's Office announced Tuesday it is investigating the events leading to last week's escape of inmate Robert Edward Crissman Jr. from the Armstrong County Jail.
Crissman Jr. allegedly beat and strangled to death a friend, Tammy Long, who lived about a mile away in Rayburn Township after his jailbreak.
He was captured Friday morning in Boggs Township.
“Accountability demands that this investigation occurs,” District Attorney Scott Andreassi said in a news release.
“It is essential that we determine exactly what occurred the morning of July 30 that allowed inmate Robert Crissman to escape from jail.”
Andreassi's office will investigate internal policies of the prison; criteria for becoming a trustee, which Crissman Jr. was; trustees' duties; and details of Crissman's supervision.
When asked how this investigation will differ from the jail oversight board's probe, Andreassi said his office's probe will work in tandem with the jail board's internal investigation.
Andreassi also is a member of that oversight board.
“It's better to have multiple sets of eyes on this situation,” Andreassi said. “My office is here to help them gather information and, if we were to find anything criminal during our investigation, it would be turned over to the Pennsylvania State Police.”
He said that the state Attorney General's Office has not contacted anyone on the jail's board to conduct an investigation, nor has the board contacted their office.
Andreassi said he wouldn't be opposed to the AG's office joining the investigation.
Assistant District Attorney Katie Charlton will lead the investigation. Assisting her are Armstrong County Detectives Paul Rearick, Franklin Roofner, Robin Davis and Charles Edwards.
The jail probe appears to be separate from the murder investigation, which is being handled by state police from Armstrong County.
Mary Ann Thomas is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-226-4691 or mthomas@tribweb.com.
