SCI PINE GROVE INMATE NOW FACES 19 FELONY CHARGES IN ATTEMPTED ESCAPE IN LATE JUNE

Further details were released concerning an incident in Late June near SCI Pine Grove.

At a news conference, State Police announced that on June 24th at 12:24, Simere Maurice Alford, an inmate at SCI Pine Grove, had attended a preliminary hearing in Clymer on a charge of Aggravated Harassment by a prisoner, and was being escorted back to the state prison in an unmarked police car. Alford, who was restrained in the police car, allegedly tried to escape by working himself out of a restraint belt around his waist and his seat belt. Police say he lunged forward over the seat and grabbed the gun of the trooper driving the car. He fired one shot that nearly hit the driver. The driver reached back and grabbed the slide of the firearm as Alford fired a second shot that hit Alford in the left leg and foot before hitting the car. The gun jammed at that point, possibly due to the trooper’s actions. The car then crashed into a guiderail on Fyock road. The driver suffered minor injuries, and is already back on full patrol. The second trooper in the car, identified only as a female, broke her left arm as a result of the crash, and is on limited duty at this time. Both troopers were on administrative duties during the investigation, as per State Police policy.

Alford now faces 19 felony charges, including two counts each of criminal attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault, assaulting an officer, and single counts of robbery and attempted robbery of a motor vehicle.

Public information officer Trooper Cliff Greenfield said the entire incident happened in 15 to 20 seconds, and that the two troopers were facing a life-or-death situation as the car was in motion.