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Tuolumne Inmate Accused Of Clawing Through Ceiling To Escape

SONORA (CBS13) - A Tuolumne County Jail inmate is accused of trying to claw her way out of her cell, but her efforts backfired when the jail got a tip from someone on the outside.

It's a discovery no jailer ever wants to make, an inmate missing and a hole in a cell.

"She probably watched 'Shawshank Redemption'," said one woman.

For Tuolumne County deputies, it was close to reality. But unlike the film, deputies say they got a call about the plot.

"Telling us there was a hole in the ceiling and this inmate was planning on escaping," said Sgt. Jeff Wilson.

Deputies would find a large hole in a woman's cell in the bathroom area. The inmate with the strength for digging, Allyssa Jensen, was serving time for felony drug charges.

"It was big enough for a small adult to fit through," said Wilson.

She did it not with a tool, but with her own bare hands.

"You would think that they would have already noticed it," said another woman.

Wilson says their security cameras are on the ceilings, and that's why they didn't notice the hole.

"When deputies come into the cells, they generally are dealing with the population in the cell, not going into the bathrooms and looking up at the ceilings," said Wilson.

Jensen is facing additional charges of escape, which only adds to her problems. Deputies say she likely got into an argument with a cellmate who then confessed.

"It was probably some sort of disagreement between the two," said Wilson. "They've got a lot of time to think about this."

Deputies say if Jensen would have gotten through the dry wall, she still would have had to get through fencing on the roof. It's something they believe she could not have done.

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