Escaped Shakopee Prisoner Caught Within 23 Minutes

Shakopee police took just 23 minutes to apprehend an inmate who escaped from the Shakopee women’s prison Monday, the agency announced on Facebook.

The department, which found out about the escape at about 7 p.m., was in the process of drafting a CodeRED notification. However, it never sent the emergency alert because the suspect was apprehended before it could be sent.

The incident is still being investigated.

In a blog post, Mayor Brad Tabke said the escape was preventable and that the prison needs a fence around the facility.

“Thankfully, no one was hurt or injured in this escape but it was entirely preventable,” Tabke wrote. “This prison is regrettably located in a residential area and has no fence on it’s perimeter. For years, the Department of Corrections has been denied a request by the Minnesota Legislature for funding to build a fence best fitting the character of a residential neighborhood.”

He called for the Legislature to approve funding for a fence in a 2014 bonding bill or through special legislation.

“Today’s escape dramatically underscores the need to build a fence around MCF-Shakopee,” he wrote. “It was a completely unnecessary risk that must be corrected in the 2014 legislative session through the bonding bill or special legislation.”

The prison, which opened in 1986, houses about 650 inmates of all custody levels.