Update: Carson City inmate arrested after escape

A 19-year-old Carson City inmate was arrested early this morning in Sparks after leaving a jail work program job at the city animal shelter Saturday.

Kyle Carpenter was arrested by Carson City and Sparks police officers around 2:45 a.m. Monday near an abandoned small white two-story house where he was staying in the 300 block of 5th Street in Sparks, according to a report by Carson City Sheriff's Detective Dena Lacy.

His wife, Jaydra Paoli, was arrested on suspicion of helping him hide from police.

"Kyle and Jaydra surrendered without incident," Lacy said in the report.

Carpenter was charged with a felony count of escape, and could face one to six years in prison, according to Carson City Sheriff Kenny Furlong. Bail was set at $25,000.

Carpenter has been in jail since May for violating a probation sentence resulting from a drug possession conviction.

He was allowed to do clean-up work at the animal shelter on Butti Way because he was considered a low-risk inmate. A friend picked him up Saturday afternoon at the animal shelter after Carpenter called the friend with a cell phone he had been hiding, according to the police report.

"He said he went into the shed and changed out of his orange clothes, threw the orange clothes over the fence at the dog walk and left," the report said.

Furlong said about 20 percent of the 150 to 180 inmates in the jail are given the privilege to work outside of normal areas based on their behavior and how much of a risk they are.

Inmates do work ranging from cooking in the jail kitchen to picking up trash at major city events.

"You hope when people go to jail they learn from their experiences," Furlong said. "You give them positive things to do when they're there."

Inmates such as Carpenter are supervised when they leave the jail, he said, but it isn't constant.

"Is someone watching them 24 hours a day?" he said. "Clearly no."

This is the second time in the last five years someone has left a jail work program, according to Furlong. He said the program at the animal shelter has been suspended and will be investigated.

Carpenter had been scheduled to be released from jail in about a month, but, according to the police report, he told police that he couldn't stop thinking about trying to escape ever since his unborn daughter died.

"He said this day was no different," the report said. "He just stopped listening to his head and just did it."

- Contact reporter Dave Frank at dfrank@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.