Joe Allen, Chief Court Bailiff for Clinton County Juvenile Court, had seen it all. Or so he thought.

He was a veteran law enforcement officer, having served as a deputy sheriff for the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office, prior to retiring from the Wilmington Police Department a few years ago.

A couple of weeks ago, Joe asked if I remembered a former prisoner who used to spend time in the old Clinton County Jail when I was sheriff.

“I sure do, Joe,” I replied.

“Well, he died last week,” Joe said.

“I am sorry to hear that. He wasn’t a bad guy, he was just a character who had lost his way for a time,” I answered.

“We saw our share of characters,” Joe said.

“I agree. We have had a wide circle of friends,” I responded.

We both had a few minutes in between appointments, so Joe and I sat down on a bench inside the courthouse to talk about this particular inmate.

“He was just a kid at the time. He came to jail on a theft charge that just met the criteria to qualify as a felony. He was a personable guy, a con man if you will. He had a slick personality, and was popular with the other prisoners and corrections officers,” I told Joe.

I remember the inmate had been sentenced to 90 days and with good behavior, might have been released a few days early. The correction officers remarked how pleasant the inmate was and eventually the corrections supervisor recommended to me the inmate be given the status of trusty, which is defined as “a prison inmate granted work assignments as a trustworthy person.”

The inmate would work under the supervision of a corrections officer and would be given odd jobs such as painting, sweeping, and various clean-up duties.

This particular inmate didn’t seem destined to be a career criminal. He was more like a guy who had made a mistake and was quietly paying his debt to society. I felt he could likely be rehabilitated. Or so I thought.

The inmate did well. He came into my office every morning and emptied the waste paper can, always exchanging pleasantries with me.

The sheriff’s staff remained cautious with trustys because the potential for them to find an item to use later as a weapon was always present. This inmate was searched when he came out of the cell block, and underwent a particularly rigorous search before returning to confinement.

We never had a problem with him.

Three days before his release from jail, I did something I had never done before and never did again. I gave the inmate a letter written on Sheriff’s Office stationary with my signature, complimenting him on his good behavior.

My stationary had letterhead emblazoned on top of the page – “Patrick Haley, Clinton County Sheriff”, with a large Sheriff’s star above my name.

The day before this trusty was to be released, a corrections officer watched as he took a large bag of trash to the dumpster. After disposing of the bag the trusty waved at the officer, turned around and ran like a deer around the courthouse. The officer was no match for the 22-year-old fleeing felon.

A manhunt ensued and every building in the Sugartree Street area was searched by officers. Approximately four hours later, the Sheriff’s Office received a call from a bartender at one of the local taverns.

“He’s hiding in the attic. Come and get him. I’m tired of his singing!” the bartender remarked.

When deputies arrived we found the trusty hiding under some clothes inside an attic closet. The trusty seemed unconcerned. “Sheriff, I knew you would find me. I thought I might as well make myself comfortable until you did,” he smiled.

I noticed a piece of paper pinned to his shirt. It looked like a star. “Why were you allowed to come upstairs into the attic?” I asked.

“Well, when I arrived downstairs I told the bartender I was doing undercover work for you,” he said.

“Wasn’t he a little suspicious?” I asked.

“No. He saw this star on my shirt and didn’t ask any questions,” he said.

I looked closely at the star on his shirt. The trusty had cut the star from the letterhead on the letter I had presented him for good behavior, and taped it to his shirt. As he said, no questions were asked.

As a young sheriff at the time, I was only eight years older than the trusty.

We both learned, as Mark Twain once said, “A person that started in to carry a cat home by the tail was gitting knowledge that was always going to be useful to him, and warn’t ever going to grow dim or doubtful.”

That cat taught me a lesson. It has never grown dim or doubtful either.

Pat Haley is a Clinton County Commissioner.