FLDOC investigating apparent drug use ahead of inmate's escape in Jax

Questions following the escape of a state inmate while on work detail on the Westside could lead the Florida Department of Corrections to an even bigger issue.

24-year-old Shayne Cooper-Olin allegedly escaped his work detail on Jacksonville's Westside Wednesday afternoon. After searching through the day, investigators found him around 8:30PM near the field where he had fled. Cooper-Olin's arrest report, obtained by WOKV, says when he was questioned why he fled and where he had been, he claimed not to remember much. In part, he says that's because he and other inmates had "smoked some K2" while on the DOT yard where they were working.

K2 is a synthetic form of marijuana that is largely illegal, but manufacturers and retailers attempt to exploit loopholes to keep it on shelves.

Regardless of the public availability, it’s not something that’s available for inmates- so we asked the DOC how Cooper-Olin and others were able to obtain it and use it while on their work detail.  In a statement, the FLDOC says their Inspector General has opened a “comprehensive administrative investigation” which will include speaking with all inmates on the work crew, reviewing evidence and other available information. They declined at this time to give any idea of how the inmates got possession of K2, however, saying only that the investigation will “determine if there was any possible wrong doing or breaches of security or protocol.”

I asked when the investigation would be complete, and was told they do not put a specific timeline in place, in order to accommodate a thorough investigation.

WOKV also learned Cooper-Olin had only recently been placed on the work detail, and DOC confirmed he had been working with the Westside squad for eight days. When I asked whether they were going to review the criteria for work detail placement, given Cooper-Olin’s escape, a spokesman only said the inmate had met all of their criteria.

Cooper-Olin was serving time in Baker Correctional for grand theft, arson, and burglary charges out of Suwannee County. He was set to be released next May, but has now been charged in Jacksonville for escape.