Inmate Captured After Prison Break Convicted Killer Used Hacksaw Blade To Escape From High-Security Cell

A convicted murderer used a hacksaw blade to cut his way out of a high-security cell at the Washington State Penitentiary early Sunday, then scaled the prison’s fence to freedom, prison officials said.

But John Allen Lamb was recaptured several hours later while hitchhiking in Walla Walla, the state Department of Corrections said.

“I have demanded a full investigation to keep this from ever happening again,” Gov. Gary Locke said in a news release.

Lamb, 33, was recaptured about 3 p.m. on the 2nd Avenue freeway ramp in Walla Walla, home of the penitentiary.

He had cut his way through a Plexiglas light fixture and a retaining bar behind the fixture to make his escape, the department said.

It isn’t clear how Lamb obtained the hacksaw blade or how he managed to scale the razor-ribbon perimeter fence without being spotted by guards, the statement said.

Prison officials reported hearing a disturbance on Lamb’s tier during the night, but it is not known if that was a cover-up by other inmates to assist Lamb in his escape.

Lamb, who is considered extremely dangerous, was serving more than 50 years from Clark County for the first-degree murder of a 99-year-old man in August 1995. Lamb also tried to escape last July.

Area residents were alerted to the escape and told to take extra precautions, the release said.

Lamb last was seen in his cell shortly after midnight, said prison spokeswoman Lori Fitzpatrick. Guards discovered he was missing during a routine bed check at 6:30 a.m.

Lamb admitted killing Howard Eby at the victim’s Washougal home, east of Vancouver.

Authorities said Lamb broke into Eby’s home, then beat and robbed the elderly victim. Eby tried to use a gun to protect himself, but, prosecutors said, Lamb seized the weapon and beat Eby, who later died from the injuries.

Lamb was suspected of breaking into Eby’s residence on two earlier occasions and of burglarizing the home of a 92-year-old man in nearby Camas several times. Lamb was said to have been seeking cash or jewelry to feed his methamphetamine habit.

Last July, Lamb stole a penitentiary employee’s truck and rammed it into a fence in an ill-fated escape attempt. Lamb was caught when the crash disabled the truck.

Investigators from the state Division of Prisons were en route to Walla Walla on Sunday. The escape comes only one week into Joe Lehman’s appointment as state prison director.