Inmate uses dummy to fool guards

NEW YORK, June 28 (UPI) -- Officials at a Long Island, N.Y., jail are preparing to punish inmate Wayne Leibold, 41, for leaving a dummy stuffed with newspapers in his bed.

The dummy, made from clothes and newspapers, was found during a random shakedown of Leibold's cell in the Suffolk County Jail Wednesday and was obviously meant to appear as if the man was in his cell, Newsday reported.

A quick search of the jail found Leibold working in another area but Sheriff Vincent DeMarco said he now faces disciplinary action.

"Maybe he was planning on leaving and when the count came they would count that decoy as a body," DeMarco said, adding that Leibold was located within three minutes of the discovery of the dummy.

"It's right out of a movie, like Clint Eastwood in 'Escape from Alcatraz,'" said DeMarco. Police Chief Alan Otto said the crude dummy, under a blanket, was surprisingly believable.

"At first, the officers thought it was a person sleeping," said Otto. "They actually attempted to wake him."

DeMarco said it could be possible that Leibold, who was serving a 270-day sentence for DWI, was planning to escape, but he was already scheduled to be released in 30 days.