A convicted murderer serving a 40-year prison sentence will now spend the rest of his life behind bars after being found guilty of multiple charges related to an escape attempt, the 11th Circuit Solicitor’s Office said.
Following a recent trial, 35-year-old Chavis L. Cox was convicted on charges of hostage-taking by a prisoner and attempted escape, the law firm said in a news release Monday. The hostage-taking charge is classified as a second “strike” or “most serious” offense under South Carolina law.
Cox was an inmate of the South Carolina Department of Corrections and was being held at McCormick Correctional Institution on a murder conviction when he was involved in the 2020 escape attempt, the release said.
On Dec. 27, 2020, Cox and two co-defendants forced a female correctional officer into his cell at the jail in McCormick, the law firm said.
Inside the cell, the correctional officer testified that Cox was holding a shaft when she was told to undress and that her keys were taken by the inmates, according to the release.
Once they had the keys and radio from the correctional officer, the inmates released numerous other inmates from their cells, the law firm said. It is estimated that more than 80 inmates have been released, creating an emergency that required assistance from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division SWAT team, the release said.
At least three other correctional officers were taken hostage in other parts of the prison during the riot, the law firm said.
According to the release, SWAT team members rescued the female correctional officer who was locked in Cox’s cell.
No prison staff were injured, S.C. Department of Corrections officials said in 2020. Two inmates suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to an area hospital, officials said at the time.
Cox tried to escape by going over the prison fence, where he and four other inmates were captured by correctional officers, the law firm said. A smuggled cellphone was found on the ground near Cox, and a search of the device revealed that Cox had planned a jailbreak before Dec. 27, the release said.
During a phone search, photos of Cox were discovered, along with maps of the jail and an escape plan, the law firm said.
According to the release, Cox was transferred to another S.C. Department of Corrections prison to serve the life sentence imposed by Judge Debra McCaslin.
“Our state prison officers have an extremely difficult and challenging job,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Mayes said in the news release. “The safety of these officers is paramount. The SLED SWAT Team and the SC Department of Corrections Response Team were brave in their rescue of this officer.
Mayes and Assistant U.S. Attorney Doug Fender prosecuted the case. Public defenders Jason Chehoski and Megan Gresham were listed as Cox’s attorney, according to McCormick County court records.
McCormick Correctional Institution is a “close” or maximum security facility for men, according to the Department of Corrections. Like other closed prisons in South Carolina, McCormick is “primarily designed to house violent offenders with longer sentences and inmates who exhibit behavioral health problems,” according to the Department of Corrections.
It is located about 80 miles west of Columbia.
