Trial begins today for STOP program escapee accused of stealing county van

DAYTON — The trial for the man accused of escaping from the Montgomery County STOP facility by stealing a county van back in January is scheduled to begin today, records show.

RELATED: Inmate who escaped STOP facility in county van indicted

Darryl E. Adams, 27, is charged with escape and two counts of grand theft of a motor vehicle after driving away in a transportation van belonging to the agency on Jan. 23.

Terri Hawk, manager of STOP, said Adams was one of three inmates who had been helping with meal transport. While the guard was signing for the meals, Adams allegedly jumped in the 2013 Chevrolet Express van and drove away.

Adams was an inmate of the court-ordered drug intervention program, detained for trafficking in heroin, when he escaped, according to court records. He was captured the night of Jan. 24 on Indiana Avenue in Dayton.

Adams was one of 96 probationers in the 90-day drug intervention program to which people are sentenced usually after other treatment or incarceration fails.

We will update this story with any new details that emerge from today’s trial.