GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A man charged with escape after being arrested outside the Brown County jail pleaded not guilty Monday.
No trial date was set for Justin Dietrich, 35. He returns to court March 27 for a status conference.
His alleged accomplice, Justice Thibodeaux, has a plea hearing May 2.
According to the criminal complaint, Dietrich was working in the secure side of the jail kitchen when Thibodeaux, who works on the non-secure side, helped him escape.
A security camera clip revealed Dietrich hiding in a kitchen cart Monday morning. The cart was then moved by another inmate into the area that separates the secure side from the non-secure side of the kitchen.
A contract worker, who is not an inmate, then opened the non-secure door and pulled the meal cart where Dietrich was hidden into the non-secure side.
When the contractor walked away, Thibodeuax pushed the cart with Dietrich in it and opened the cart door. Thibodeaux then directed Dietrich to the kitchen exit, which leads into the loading dock.
After speaking, the two walked away — Dietrich exiting through the loading dock and then running through a back parking lot and into the wood line.
When first interviewed, Thibodeaux denied knowing Dietrich but eventually admitted to knowing him before jail and discussing the escape with him previously.
According to the criminal complaint, Thibodeuax said Dietrich was having issues with his girlfriend and wanted to get out, but he never expected Dietrich to follow through.
After his arrest in September, Dietrich said he received a letter from his girlfriend a few days before his escape, which upset him.
Dietrich said no one helped him and was surprised when police told him Thibodeaux admitted to helping him. He says he had no plan.
