Escaped Oregon Inmate Captured a Year Later

Nov. 13, 2013
A bank robber who escaped a jail by jumping from the roof and into a tree last year has been arrested.

The bank robber who escaped from the Jackson County Jail by jumping from the roof and into a tree last year was arrested Tuesday in Oregon City, officials said.

A U.S. Marshals fugitive task force arrested Bradley William Monical without incident in Oregon City. He will remain in custody there until he is shipped back to Jackson County to face charges for his escape last November, Jackson County Sheriff Mike Winters said.

"I am relieved Mr. Monical is back where he belongs," Winters said. "He will be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible."

On Nov. 19, 2012, officials believe Monical stood on another inmate's shoulders in the jail's recreation hall, pushed away a piece of metal mesh to access the roof and then jumped into a nearby tree to freedom.

Monical, then 42, was scheduled to be tried in March 2013 in Jackson County Circuit Court for a December 2010 robbery at an Ashland PremierWest Bank.

He was arrested following a robbery in Coos Bay in April 2011, and convicted and sentenced to 22 years in state prison. He had been in the Jackson County Jail since August 2011 to face the Ashland charges.

Monical was indicted in July 2011 on five counts of second-degree robbery related to the Ashland case. He pleaded not guilty, records show. Monical had been in the jail since August 2011 to face the additional charges.

Officials said Monical had admitted to other robberies across the state and in Washington and Idaho.

The escape sparked a countywide manhunt, with deputies combing the areas surrounding the jail and the Bear Creek Greenway looking for signs of him.

The efforts proved fruitless, as it appears Monical headed north to the Portland area, Winters said.

"He might have had ties to that area," Winters said. "The investigation is ongoing and we should know more at a later date."

Fortunately, Monical surrendered to the U.S. Marshals without putting anyone in danger. Winters said he was concerned that Monical would not go quietly if cornered.

"If he was brazen enough to jump from the jail into a tree to escape, then you never know what he might be capable of," Winters said.

Additional charges related to the escape will be lodged against Monical upon his return to Jackson County, Winters said.

The same U.S. Marshals task force that arrested murder suspect Othon Robert Campos Jr. in Vancouver, Wash., last month was responsible for Monical's capture, Winters said.

Campos is accused of murdering an Ashland-area man in his trailer during a robbery attempt.

"The Marshals service is the best at what they do," Winters said. "They have made the citizens of this state and county safer by apprehending these two fugitives."

Winters said the escape prompted a rigorous review of jail polices and procedures. The trees near the jail have since been removed and tighter security measures have been put in place at various points throughout the jail, Winters said.

"I am confident that no one will ever escape this institution again," Winters said.

Copyright 2013 - Mail Tribune, Medford, Ore.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Sponsored Recommendations

Build Your Real-Time Crime Center

March 19, 2024
A checklist for success

Whitepaper: A New Paradigm in Digital Investigations

July 28, 2023
Modernize your agency’s approach to get ahead of the digital evidence challenge

A New Paradigm in Digital Investigations

June 6, 2023
Modernize your agency’s approach to get ahead of the digital evidence challenge.

Listen to Real-Time Emergency 911 Calls in the Field

Feb. 8, 2023
Discover advanced technology that allows officers in the field to listen to emergency calls from their vehicles in real time and immediately identify the precise location of the...

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Officer, create an account today!