Of the three inmates who have allegedly escaped the custody of
the McKean County Jail or work release program since July, one has
been recaptured, one is still at large and the charges have been
dropped against another.

Law enforcement officials confirmed Monday that Gary Herbstritt
remains at large; Mark Mullins has been captured in Florida and the
charges have been dropped against David Paul Davis.

Davis is the inmate who was accused of conspiring with two other
inmates on July 3 to climb the wall of the outside recreation area,
make his way through the chain-link fence at the top of the wall
and jump to the ground, some 20-feet below.

Davis was severely injured in his attempt and was hospitalized
in Erie.

District Attorney John Pavlock explained that he made the
decision to drop the charges against Davis for a few reasons.

“He was wanted in North Carolina and facing substantial time
there,” Pavlock said. There was an outstanding warrant for robbery
with a dangerous weapon in North Carolina.

“He incurred medical expenses in the tens of thousands of
dollars” while in the custody of McKean County, Pavlock said.

“He needed medical attention our jail couldn’t provide,” he
added. “He was being held in Erie County Jail.”

Pavlock said that because of the amount of jail time Davis was
facing in North Carolina, he may have received a concurrent jail
sentence in McKean County.

“He may not have got any additional jail time,” Pavlock said. “I
decided to release him to North Carolina. That’s the decision due
to the substantial costs. North Carolina wanted him very badly and
I made the decision to withdraw the charges (here).”

Rather than continuing to accrue costs that likely would not
have been recoverable from Davis, Pavlock decided to withdraw the
charges and send Davis to North Carolina.

“It was doubtful whether we could make him pay for his medical
expenses even if we got a court order against him,” the district
attorney said, explaining Davis was facing a substantial prison
sentence in North Carolina.

Meanwhile, the two men who allegedly helped Davis with his
escape attempt will be prosecuted, Pavlock said.

“Those charges will go forward,” he said.

James Bunce, 18, and Charles Johnson, 24, both inmates at the
jail, have been charged with conspiracy to commit escape. The
charges against both men were bound to court by District Judge
James Miller on Oct. 3.

The men allegedly lifted Davis up so that he could climb over
the wall, according to court records.

Pavlock said that it was his understanding that Davis had
already been turned over to North Carolina authorities.

Today, Mark Mullins will go before an extradition judge in
Broward County, Florida, after being picked up in Palm Beach about
a week ago, according to McKean County Detective Gerald
Okerlund.

Okerlund explained that Mullins had been arrested in Florida and
had some outstanding warrants there as well. Okerlund said he did
not know if Mullins intended to waive extradition or if he would
elect to go through the formal extradition process.

Mullins had failed to return to the jail after being released on
work release on July 23.

As of late Monday, Smethport Borough Police were still searching
for Gary Herbstritt, who walked away from work release at the
McKean County Historical Society on Friday.

Chief Ryan Yingling said, “I’ve conducted a few interviews. I
talked to a few people who gave him rides that day. There is a
warrant out for him.

“It’s kind of like what happened with Mullins. If he gets picked
up some where, we’ll have him.”