CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, S.C. — A 30-year-old inmate escaped from the Chesterfield County Detention Center on Monday afternoon by using a pencil to tamper with a cell door lock before deputies arrested him less than 30 minutes later near Jones Road.
Charles Alexander Dieterich, of New York, was taken back into custody near the Chesterfield County Shop after assaulting a deputy during his arrest.
Preliminary information from the Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office indicates Dieterich was housed in the B-Work Camp unit, a portion of the detention facility constructed in 1972. Dieterich lifted the cell door enough to insert a pencil into the locking mechanism, allowing him to slide the door open.
After breaking out of his cell, Dieterich walked through the jail kitchen and exited through an unlocked door routinely used by staff and inmate trustees. He then entered a fenced area, scaled a barbed-wire barrier and ran away, suffering cuts during the fence climb.
Detention staff noticed the cell door ajar during routine rounds after other inmates reported that Dieterich had left the housing area. Staff secured the area and alerted dispatchers at approximately 4:41 p.m. Deputies responded to the surrounding area and located a man near the Chesterfield County Shop on Jones Road at approximately 4:48 p.m. While deputies attempted to detain him, Dieterich assaulted a deputy before being arrested. Dieterich was transported to McLeod Health Cheraw for treatment of cuts sustained while climbing the barbed-wire fence, cleared medically and returned to the detention center.
Following the escape, jail administrators assigned a correctional officer to post at the entrance to the B-Work Camp housing area overnight to supervise the unit directly while officials evaluate the locking mechanism. Chesterfield County Sheriff Cambo Streater called the escape a serious matter and announced a full review of detention center operations and facility security.
“Any escape from our detention center is a serious matter and we are conducting a full review of how this occurred,” Streater said. “While our deputies were able to locate and take Dieterich back into custody within minutes of being notified, our responsibility does not end with his capture. Our detention center is an aging facility, with portions dating back to 1972. This incident identified a security vulnerability that an inmate was able to manipulate and exploit. Immediate precautions were put in place and we are addressing the issue to prevent another incident. I want the public to know we will be transparent about what occurred. We will review our facility, procedures and security measures and make any changes necessary to protect our correctional officers, inmates and the citizens of Chesterfield County. I am thankful for the quick response of our detention staff, dispatchers and deputies who worked together to get Dieterich back into custody.”
Dieterich faces new pending charges of unlawful escape, resisting arrest, assaulting a police officer and MIPP. Sheriff’s deputies originally arrested Dieterich in June 2026 on charges of possession, concealment, sale or disposal of a stolen vehicle valued between $2,000 and $10,000, manufacturing or possession of a Schedule I, II or III controlled substance with intent to distribute and failure to stop for a blue light.
Court records show Dieterich pleaded guilty to those original charges on Aug. 13 and received a sentence of time served. However, he remained incarcerated at the Chesterfield County Detention Center due to an active hold for pending charges in North Carolina after refusing to sign a waiver of extradition.
Detention center staff and technicians are scheduled to evaluate the door-locking mechanism further to implement long-term security fixes for the housing unit.
Channel 9 has reported on problems at the jail in the past, including inmates jumping out of windows and knocking down doors.
Last week, Streater said he invited the South Carolina Department of Corrections inside to help enhance security.
An SCDC official told Channel 9 many lock mechanisms inside the jail are too old for upkeep and the door that Dieterich broke out of had just been identified as a problem.
“They don’t put doors in jails like this anymore. The security standards are much, much better now,” the sheriff said.
County Council will put a penny sales tax on the ballot in November, asking voters to build a $50-million jail.
“I would vote in favor of it because you think about the criminals that go put in there and they break out and they’re going to come to you,” said resident Sylvia Spangler.
The SCDC official said this is likely the second-oldest county jail in South Carolina.
He said the facility’s design no longer meets the needs of modern jail operations.
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