Adult In Custody Walks Away From Work Crew (Photo) -08/26/24
T.J. Harvey Bennett, an adult in custody with the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC), walked away from a work crew near the corner of SE 46th Place and Red Cherry Court SE in Salem, Oregon at approximately 3:00 p.m. Monday, August 26, 2024.
Bennett, 44, is a white male weighing 165 lbs., 5’ 08’’ tall, with hazel eyes and brown hair. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a blue shirt, and an orange vest.
Bennett entered DOC custody on October 9, 2023, for Burglary I out of Columbia County. His earliest release date is March 16, 2025. Bennett was housed at Santiam Correctional Institution and was working on a City of Salem Work Crew.
The DOC Fugitive Apprehension Unit and the Oregon State Police are investigating. Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts should contact the Oregon State Police at 1-800-452-7888, the non-emergency number of their local police department, or the DOC Fugitive Apprehension Unit at 503-569-0734. Do not approach Fugitive Bennett.
Bennett was housed at Santiam Correctional Institution (SCI), a minimum-security prison in Salem that houses approximately 440 adults in custody who are within four years of release. The facility concentrates on work opportunities, most of which are in the form of work crews contracting with state agencies, local organizations, and private industries within a 60-mile radius of Salem. SCI provides a range of other correctional programs and services including education, transition programs, and religious services. The building that is now SCI was constructed in 1946 and was originally used as an annex to the Oregon State Hospital for mental health patients. Over the years it was used for a variety of correctional purposes until, in 1990, it opened as SCI.
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