Gov. Sisolak announces resignation of Nevada corrections director after inmate escape

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - Governor Steve Sisolak on Friday announced the resignation of Nevada Department of Corrections Director Charles Daniels after an inmate escaped from an Indian Springs prison on Sept. 23.

Gov. Sisolak said in a statement Friday morning that he had “requested and received” Daniels’ resignation, effective immediately.

According to NDOC, Charles Daniels began as the department’s director on Dec. 10, 2019. The department said Daniels had been in corrections for over 30 years, “working in various leadership roles.”

The announcement comes following the escape of inmate Porfirio Duarte-Herrera, who was able to flee from a Nevada prison last week and was on the run for several days before the department informed any outside agencies.

Gov. Sisolak’s statement also says NDOC has also placed six officers on administrative leave as a result of the escape, “following the proper protocols in place.”

The inmate was taken back into custody on Wednesday night after Las Vegas police took him into custody right before he was set to board a bus to flee to Tijuana, Mexico.

During a Thursday news conference, Sheriff Lombardo said Duarte-Herrera had a “four-day head start on authorities,” as both Las Vegas police or the U.S. Marshall Service were not notified of the escape until Tuesday.

NDOC had announced Tuesday that Duarte-Herrera was missing from a 7 a.m. count on Tuesday morning. However, NDOC then updated that the inmate had actually been unaccounted for since Friday.

The governor said “the state’s investigation into the circumstances surrounding the recent escape of an inmate from NDOC custody is ongoing,” adding that he has ordered NDOC “to conduct and complete a thorough investigation” into the incident “as quickly as possible to ensure any lapses in protocol are immediately addressed.”

According to the president of a union that represents corrections officers in Nevada, Duarte-Herrera made a dummy and used battery acid to break down his cell’s window frame.

Duarte-Herrera, from Nicaragua, was convicted in 2010 of killing a hot dog stand vendor using a motion-activated bomb in a coffee cup atop a car parked at the Luxor hotel-casino.

Gov. Sisolak says that effective immediately, William Gittere, the deputy director of operations, will serve as the acting director for the department. Gittere previously served as warden of Ely State Prison.