Georgia corrections officers are searching for an Atlanta man who became the latest resident to abscond from the Atlanta Transitional Center.
Roderick Calvin Watkins, 38, is wanted after he walked away from the transitional facility in Midtown on Monday, the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) announced on social media. The agency’s announcement also warns against approaching Watkins or trying to apprehend him.
Watkins, who is serving a 20-year sentence for aggravated battery out of DeKalb County, is the most recent resident to leave the transitional center in a string of similar incidents. Transitional centers provide Georgia inmates who meet certain criteria with a work-release program, helping them gain skills and readjust to the world outside of prison.
“Unfortunately, some individuals make a decision not to return to the facility from their jobs,” GDC director of public affairs Joan Heath told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “When that occurs, the GDC dedicates all of our Fugitive Unit resources toward immediate action and recapture.”
Watkins is the sixth work release resident to leave an area transitional center since the beginning of 2020, according to the AJC’s previous reporting.
Courtney Adrius Lee left the center in February 2020. It is not clear when he returned to the corrections system, but he finished his sentence later that year and was released in July, according to GDC records.
On June 22, Micheal Lamar Dais, 41, left the transitional center and was recaptured without incident more than a week later. He is scheduled for release in October 2022 after serving a 12-year sentence for armed robbery in Chatham County, GDC records show.
In August, 58-year-old William Henry Strozier did not return from his work-release job. It is not clear when he was recaptured, but he is finishing the remainder of his sentence at Johnson State Prison, according to GDC records. Strozier is scheduled to be released in August after serving an eight-year sentence for burglary.
Also in August, 22-year-old Melissa Nadine Menzies walked away from the Metro Transitional Center located in southeast Atlanta. It is not clear when she was recaptured, but she is now serving her sentence in Arrendale State Prison, according to GDC records. She is serving a 20-year sentence for robbery but is scheduled to be released in August 2023.
Finally, 32-year-old Jeremy Deangelo Lewis left the Atlanta Transitional Center in mid-February and was recaptured two weeks later in Anniston, Alabama. He is back in the same Midtown transitional center fulfilling the remainder of his 10-year sentence for burglary, with release scheduled for January 2022, according to GDC records.
Residents who leave a transitional center without authorization face disciplinary action and even new charges, Heath said.
“In these instances, a warrant may be issued on the individual, and he/she will face disciplinary and potential criminal charges (criminal charges are a function of the local DA, not GDC),” Heath told the AJC. “An escape or walk away from a TC facility or work detail can potentially impact future TC placement.”
The Atlanta TC houses about 250 male residents in a facility on Ponce de Leon Avenue with a staff of about 60, the AJC previously reported. The GDC has one of the largest prison systems in the U.S. and is responsible for supervising nearly 52,000 state prisoners. It is the largest law enforcement agency in the state with approximately 10,500 employees.
Anyone who sees Watkins is asked to contact the GDC by calling 478-992-5111 or emailing gdc.ciu@gdc.ga.gov.
— Staff writer Asia Simone Burns contributed to this article.
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