CAPTURED!
For several weeks after the 1992 Greenhouse getaway, people held their breath when they saw an unknown man lurking around their residence. The three escapees were apprehended within three weeks of their departure and their time out of the penitentiary was eventful. Innocent families were greatly impacted by their actions.
Fred Hamilton
Fred was the first escapee of the greenhouse to be captured. He was brought back to justice on February 26th, but not before he acted in nefarious ways.
After Fred exited the tunnel, he made his way to Benwood, West Virginia, which is a small town almost eight and a half miles away from Moundsville. In Benwood, Fred loitered outside of the home of Richard Porter, who was a retired supervisor for International Harvester. For two nights, he remained on Porter’s property.
On Monday, the 24th of February, while Porter was out running errands, Fred broke into his house. Porter’s nightmare began when he was met at the door by Fred who was pointing a shotgun at him. Before Porter arrived home, Fred sat at his kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal.
Fred ordered him into the bedroom and then coerced Porter to get into his car and drive Fred out of the area. Porter was forced to drive 155 miles away while Fred impatiently flicked the chamber of a .38 caliber handgun open and shut. Fred nervously talked incessantly about how he was the mastermind of the escape.
When they were near Erie, Pennsylvania, Fred ordered Porter to exit so he could get out and stretch. As they pulled into the parking lot of a shopping mall, Porter was not sure what was next.
“What now? Are you going to shoot me now?” Porter inquired.
Fred retorted, “No, I’m going to steal a car.”
When Fred exited the vehicle, Porter sped away and went into a convenience store to report what had taken place.
While Fred was standing in the parking lot, a family got out of a white Plymouth Sundance. While stealing their car, he told them, “It was their lucky day.” Fortunately, he didn’t harm them or inflict any physical harm on Porter.
Fred was seen traveling in Ohio but would not be sighted again until he made his way to Oklahoma. In the town of El Reno, a small burg twenty-five miles east of Oklahoma City, Fred attempted to rob a convenience store. In the store, he approached Susan Blair, the clerk.
Susan was either brave or completely unsettled because when Fred told her he had a gun and was robbing her, she picked up a phone and started banging it on the window which separated them. The woman also began to loudly scream. Her histrionics took Fred by complete surprise. He later said, “When she started screaming, I didn’t know what to do.”
Fred left quickly without taking any money still amazed at the woman’s reaction. The police were notified and quickly began pursuit. Fred attempted to get away but crashed the car in Hinton, Oklahoma, jumped out, and began to run. He threw the gun away while he was driving and was apprehended and taken to the Canadian County jail in El Reno, Oklahoma.
When asked where he planned to go, Fred told law enforcement agents, “I was going to Pebble Beach to play pro golf.”
David Williams
David Williams was the second inmate of the greenhouse getaway caught on March 6th. While Fred went north to Benwood, Tomie wanting to go to Denver, and David fled south to New Martinsville, a town about twenty-five miles away from Moundsville.
At 3:00 a.m., David broke through Lane and Barbara Bohrer’s garage door window in New Martinsville. Lane had fallen asleep on the couch and was alarmingly awakened by a man standing over him brandishing a knife. Lane was caught off guard because David made friends with their poodle who normally would have barked at strangers.
Lane was told to wake up his wife Barbara but threatened to gag her if he became hysterical. When she was awakened from a sound sleep, she was noticeably upset. Lane told her to use her head as this man was not playing games. He knew they were in imminent danger.
David demanded Barbara cook breakfast for him and she made him a meal of bacon and eggs. Later, David wanted to eat more so he grabbed a frozen pizza from their freezer but did not know how to operate their microwave. Since he had been in prison, David had not had access to a microwave. Barbara cooked it for him.
After eating, David tightly wrapped a telephone cord around Lane’s wrists and had them go into their bedroom. David did place a pillow under Lane’s head to try to make him feel less miserable. Near sunrise, David placed pillowcases over their heads. He told them, “If you try to take the bonds off and I come back, you’re dead.”
David returned to the garage and attempted to steal their 1990 Thunderbird. But when David tried to start it, he heard unknown beeps and returned to the Bohrers to ask what was the noise. Lane explained when new cars started, there was a beeping noise to alert people to put on their seatbelts. Again, since David had been in the walls of the prison, he was not aware of outside technology.
At around 11:30 a.m., David left their house with cash, a .270 caliber rifle with a scope, a .41 magnum pistol, a 20-gauge semi-automatic shotgun, a .22 caliber rifle, and their car. He was heavily armed and dangerous.
When the Bohrer’s believed he left, Barbara untied Lane and they barricaded their bedroom door with a cedar chest to prevent David from returning. Then they opened their bedroom window and jumped down to the ground which was ten feet below. When Barbara jumped, she unfortunately fractured her leg. They were able to make it to safety in the home of a nearby neighbor.
David stayed in the New Martinsville area for almost a week and at times hid in a doghouse owned by Chuck Lawson who happened to be a bail bondsman. During that time, there were a couple of burglaries which were most likely committed by David. Watches were stolen from the Outlet Store and cigarettes from Golden Corral.
David was captured on March 6th at 2:35 p.m. as he traveled south on the West Virginia turnpike near Mabscott, West Virginia. He did not resist arrest in any manner and was taken peacefully.
Tomie Mollohan
Wide-spread rumors circulated that the three inmates would stick together when they broke free from the penitentiary but this was not true. Tomie said, “We split up before we ever got out. They got out, in fact, I didn’t have any idea which way they went.” Each devised a different plan and each went different ways.
At first, Tomie wanted to travel to Denver where he could enjoy the outdoor setting and would not be recognized. His initial plan was to make his way there. As he exited the tunnel outside of Tower Three, he walked toward 12th Street. He saw a police officer driving by so he tried to duck out of sight. As he did so, he stumbled and fell to the ground injuring his ribs.
When he arrived at the Big Lots, store located at the intersection of 12th Street and Lafayette Avenue, he called a cab which took him to Wheeling. He was taken to a bar there and called another cab to take him to the Greyhound station. Tomie had $685 in his possession.
When the news stations announced Tomie Mollohan escaped, a Cameron resident hung a sign on a guard rail saying, “Welcome home, Tomie.” During his last escape, this was his destination and it was anticipated he would go back there. When Tomie was told about the sign after being captured, he quipped, Maybe, I’ll run for mayor there.
Tomie knew he could not return to Cameron so he boarded the bus which took him to Cambridge, Ohio, then to Columbus, Ohio, and he exited it in Buffalo, New York. Tomie wanted to go into Canada but he was not carrying any identification. He stayed for Buffalo for ten days wanting things to cool down before he made his next move.
From Buffalo, Tomie traveled to Ashland, Kentucky and stayed in a motel room with an unidentified woman for four nights. Tomie could not stay away from the Mountain State and hitchhiked to Williamson, which is located in Mingo County. Tomie claims that at least fifty people gave him rides.
Tomie went to the home of Arthur Ellis where he stayed for two days. Ellis fed him pinto beans, cornbread and coffee. Ellis didn’t know he was a fugitive and was very surprised when he was told the truth about his visitor. While Tomie was out at a restaurant, a person recognized him and reported him to the police.
In a rural area outside of Isaban, West Virginia, Tomie made arrangements for someone to meet him to bring him food. The authorities had been notified and two policemen in plainclothes met him and arrested him. He had been staying by a rock near an overhang overlooking Isaban.
The officers said Tomie, “Looked tired, worn out. He had been sleeping outside most of the time.” One highly ironic fact is that Tomie was captured on March 10th which was his 50th birthday. When he was arrested, West Virginia State Police Corporal Roby Pope jokingly told him, “Happy Birthday!”
Tomie traveled over 200 miles and was free for almost three weeks. He was the last inmate to return to the penitentiary.
The greenhouse getaway was a mixture of audacity and ingenuity. While several people were terrorized while the convicts were on the lam, thankfully, no one was killed.
Carl Legursky, the warden of the penitentiary, resigned from his position as blame was placed upon him for the escape.
