MANCHESTER, NH – Two inmates, both within months of eligibility for parole, were placed on escapee status from the Calumet House in Manchester after failing to show up on time for their night-shift jobs. They eventually showed up and were returned to prison early Thursday morning.
Terry Michael Deschenes, 26, of Seabrook, and Steven Thomas Martinson, 49, of Manchester, were apprehended by NH State Police at about 3:30 a.m. on Dec. 8.
The two were reported missing from the Calumet Transitional Housing Unit in Manchester after they failed to report to work on December 7, 2016. They had permission to leave to go to their overnight jobs at 10 p.m. but never made it to their employer, and were placed on walkaway status at 1:30 a.m. on Dec. 8, 2016. They had been scheduled to return to the facility by 11 a.m.
Deschenes was convicted in Rockingham County Superior Court for multiple counts of burglary and was sentenced 2 ½ – 7 years in prison with 89 days of time served credited to his sentence. He entered the NH State Prison for Men on November 6, 2014 and was eligible for parole on February 3, 2017 with a maximum release date of August 6, 2021.
Martinson was convicted in Hillsborough County Superior Court of possession, distribution, or manufacturing of opioids. He was sentenced to 1 year minimum to 3 years maximum and was admitted to the NH State Prison for Men on February 29, 2016. He was eligible for parole on February 27, 2017 with a maximum release date of February 27, 2019.
“Even though they were not due back to the facility until 11 a.m. today they are required to show up to work at a schedule time. In such circumstances we try to give them the benefit of the doubt since they are on work release but at a certain point we have to make the call to place them on walkaway status if their whereabouts are unknown,” said NH Department of Corrections spokesman Jeffrey Lyons.
He said investigators will determine where the two men were for the five unaccounted for hours.
A walkaway is considered an escape and is a class B felony punishable by 3 ½ – 7 years in prison.
