Inmate Escapes Work Release Center

— An inmate in the Northwest Arkansas Work Release program walked away from his worksite Wednesday. He was picked up walking along a roadway later, said an Arkansas Department of Correction employee.

Alejandro Pacheco, 23, was working at the Kansas Street George’s processing plant when he ran, said Shea Wilson, Department of Correction spokeswoman. He left the site of the plant with another inmate, but they were detected returning about 12:30 p.m. Pacheco then panicked and ran, she said.

Inmates participating in the work release program are not allowed to leave the grounds of their worksite, Wilson said.

Pacheco is described on the department website as 5 feet 7 inches and 175 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes. He was wearing brown or khaki clothes, Wilson said.

Pacheco was not considered a threat to the community, Wilson said. All inmates at work release centers are on trusty status.

“He would not have been in a work release program if we thought he was dangerous,” Wilson said.

Pacheco was convicted in April 2011 of theft of property in Washington County and in July 2011 of third-degree domestic battering in Benton County. He was scheduled to be released in December 2013, according to the website.

The work release program in Springdale, which opened in 1980, includes 42 trustees, Wilson said. The last time an inmate walked away was more than two years ago.

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