The suspect in a triple murder in Woodland attempted to escape the Clark County Jail Sunday night but was interrupted by a corrections deputy, Clark County Undersheriff Mike Cooke said.
A corrections deputy was doing a routine perimeter check of the jail just before 9 p.m. Sunday and discovered a broken exterior window of a cell, the sheriff’s office reported.
Deputies placed the jail on lockdown because of the possibility that weapons or contraband might have been introduced into the jail, the sheriff’s office said. By Monday morning, they resumed normal jail operations.
On-duty members of the SWAT team as well as patrol deputies and Vancouver police officers responded to the jail, 707 W. 13th St., and worked to clear the facility and search for possible contraband.
The agency said it does not comment on the seizure of contraband or the movement of inmates within the jail.
Detectives with the sheriff’s office major crimes unit began investigating the circumstances of the broken window, which revealed that the broken window was linked to an escape attempt by Brent Luyster, Cooke said.
Luyster, a 35-year-old known white supremacist, is accused of fatally shooting three people and critically injuring a fourth victim at a Woodland home in July.
He was by himself in the jail cell, Cooke said. When jail staff learned of the escape attempt, they resumed the lockdown on Monday, Cooke said. The jail will remain in lockdown until there is a complete assessment of the facilities, Cooke said.
How allegedly broke the window, creating a six inch by 8 inch hole, is under investigation, Cooke said.
Crews with the county’s facilities department will work to repair the damaged window and the cell will remain empty until window is repaired, Cooke said.
After detectives are finished with their investigation, they will forward the report to the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for consideration of new charges. Luyster is expected to appear in court Tuesday to face those charges.