Inmate uses socks to escape Douglas County jail

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office said it is making changes after an inmate tried to escape by using socks to block the lock on his cell door.

"We've never had an attempt like this before," said Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock.

The attempted escape happened five days ago, on Easter Sunday.

According to court documents, inmate Cody Butero was supposed to be locked in his cell when all of a sudden he "opened the cell door and walked out."

"It's a huge concern," said Sheriff Spurlock. "If they were able to disrupt one locking system, they may be able to disrupt a second one."

Deputies later found Butero in the common area, and after reviewing jail surveillance video, they learned his cell door had been opened earlier in the day for about ten minutes.

During that time the affidavit states, "Inmate Butero can be seen placing socks in the door to keep it from locking." A few hours later, he walked right out.

"Since that point we have taken measures, both with our technology and our fiscal plan to make sure that those types of attempts can't happen anymore," said Sheriff Spurlock.

Spurlock said he couldn't provide specific details about the changes due to security concerns, but said they plan to fix the budget to help pay for upgraded cells in this area of the jail.

Until that happens, Sheriff Spurlock said they're confident they've closed the door on the problem.

"We feel very comfortable that we have resolved the issue that allowed him to make the attempted escape," he said.

Butero is being held on several charges including second degree assault. He now faces additional charges for criminal mischief and attempt to escape.