A woman accused of aiding in the escape of a committed patient of the Arkansas State Hospital earlier this year pleaded innocent Monday.
Michelle Messer, 42, of Sherwood faces charges of aiding in unauthorized departure and furnishing prohibited articles after apatient Cory Kristopher Chapin left the State Hospital in March.
On March 20, a hospital police officer reported that Chapin had unauthorized items in his room, according to court documents.
Chapin's roommate at the time told a hospital official that Messer, a licensed clinical examiner, had given Chapin an Android cellphone, 15 bottles of vaping liquid, USB power banks and cables and a bag containing 21 pills of unknown type, according to the original affidavit for Messer's arrest.
Perry Wyse, the State Hospital police chief, interviewed Messer, who denied having any knowledge about the contraband, according to an affidavit for Messer's arrest.
Wyse then told Messer she was not to have contact with Chapin and to remain in her office until her supervisor arrived on duty so they could meet, the affidavit said.
Instead, Wyse reported that Chapin walked directly to Unit C, found Chapin and led him to a vehicle, which they used to flee the hospital.
Chapin had a "past criminal history of kidnapping and rape," Wyse wrote in the affidavit, and officers were concerned for both the community's safety and for Messer's.
Chapin was found innocent by reason of insanity in 2015 after being charged with felony kidnapping, theft of property, unauthorized use of a vehicle and possession of a controlled substance, according to court records.
Authorities later found that the items found in Chapin's room were from a backpack that he had with him upon his admission, court documents said.
The backpack for a time was held in the police property room and then put in a staff member's office until it could be returned to Chapin's father, the original arrest disposition report for Messer's arrest said.
Messer used the staff member's office to "conduct consultations with Chapin ... sometimes for unusually long extended periods of time with the door shut," according to the court document.
Officers said they believe Messer returned those items to Chapin during those consultations.
Officers also reportedly discovered a receipt from a Kum and Go convenience store for 10 bottles of vaping liquid -- the same kind found in Chapin's possession -- in Messer's office. The debit card used in the purchase matched Messer's, according to court documents.
Six days after fleeing the hospital, Messer and Chapin were captured in Nevada and arrested as fugitives.
Messer was released from the Pulaski County jail after posting a $10,000 bond in April, court documents said.
Pulaski County Circuit Judge Barry Sims set Messer's jury trial for Jan. 30 during Monday's plea hearing.
Information for this article was contributed by Brandon Riddle of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Metro on 08/21/2018