It seems obvious. Someone should have kept better tabs on Damien C. Lewis, the 22-year-old parolee charged with killing an elderly Lawrence couple last week.

But the Department of Corrections says that’s not as easy as it sounds.

And despite a troubled past both in and out of Kansas correctional institutions, Lewis’ release in late April was by the book, officials say.

“There was a parole plan; procedure was followed. That much I can tell you,” said Bill Miskell, spokesman for the Department of Corrections. “And upon his release, he was eligible for a payment of up to $40.”

Miskell said Lewis’ release was in full compliance with both the department’s procedures and the state’s sentencing guidelines.

Lewis’ case, he said, was not unique.

“Not by any stretch of the imagination,” Miskell said.

As of last Friday, the department had 483 warrants pending for the arrest of former inmates who, like Lewis, have violated terms of their parole. But until they’re stopped by police for driving with a broken taillight, for example or until a neighbor happens to turn them in, they’re free to roam.

“Once we know where a violator is, there are things we can do,” Miskell said. Until then, corrections officials are in the dark. In Lewis’ case, neither the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department nor the Lawrence Police Department had been tipped to Lewis’ whereabouts before his July 17 arrest on charges stemming from an unrelated robbery.

Public vigilance needed

But how is the public Lewis’ neighbors, for example supposed to know he’s violated parole and is being sought by police?

It’s not easy.

The Department of Corrections’ Web site www.dc.state.ks.us includes a section that gives users access to basic information about past and current inmates. But it does not include a list of those being sought for violations.

“Basically, it’s not up there because it changes constantly,” Miskell said.

The Journal-World offered to print an updated version of the list of violators for whom warrants have been issued.

“Let me get back to you on that,” Miskell said, responding to the newspaper’s offer. “I don’t know that that’s ever been offered before.”

In the meantime, he encouraged anyone concerned about suspicious activity or people to call their police or sheriff’s department.

“Help from the public is the greatest help there is,” Miskell said.

Beyond the list of 483 known “absconders,” he cited the 3,928 offenders now on parole, the 3,955 would-be inmates in community corrections programs, and the roughly 16,000 adults and 7,800 juveniles who are on some sort of lesser, court-ordered probation or supervision as evidence.

‘Too many, no question’

But he said those numbers were no reason for panic.

“There has to be a balance between living in fear and being aware that there are people in your community who are quite capable of committing violent acts,” Miskell said. “That’s a tough balance to strike.”

At the same time, he said, it’s wrong to assume only those who’ve been in prison are capable of committing violent acts.

“People who have no prior history of violence are convicted of committing violent acts and sentenced for such acts on a daily basis,” he said.

Miskell says state records show that out of the 3,344 inmates released from the state’s prisons since July 1, 1995, about 40 percent have served additional time for parole violations.

The most common violations, he said, are absconding and failing to complete community-based treatment programs, such as substance abuse and anger management programs, or sex offender counseling.

Of the inmates released, about 15 percent were later convicted of felonies.

“That’s too many, no question,” Miskell said.

The Lewis case

According to Department of Corrections records, Lewis was released April 26 on parole from Lansing Correctional Facility, where he’d been completing a 56-month sentence for aggravated assault, burglary and criminal possession of a firearm.

While at Lansing, he was considered a maximum-security inmate, Miskell said.

Under the terms of Lewis’ release, he was set free with an expectation he would report to his parole officer in Hutchinson that afternoon. He didn’t, and three days later, a warrant was issued for his arrest. Sometime later, Lewis apparently landed in Lawrence and took up residence in an apartment in the 1600 block of Haskell Avenue.

Miskell declined comment on whether Lewis’ parole plan called for a relative, friend or passenger bus to take him to Hutchinson.

Lewis, originally from Newton, is no stranger to trouble:

On Jan. 7, 1997, he was charged with stealing a Smith & Wesson handgun and 86 compact discs during a burglary in Newton. Under an agreement with prosecutors, he later pleaded guilty to charges of burglary and criminal possession of a firearm in exchange for a sentence of 36 months of probation, beginning in March 1997.

Though he was 16 at the time, he was charged and sentenced as an adult.

Lewis apparently followed the conditions of his probation until Jan. 15, 1998, when police were called to his home, where, according to police reports, Lewis had drawn a steak knife on his mother during an argument about his talking on the telephone too much.

Lewis pleaded no contest to a charge of aggravated assault. He was sentenced in July 1998 to 56 months for the crime and for violating probation on the previous two charges.

After a month’s stay at the state’s reception and diagnostic unit in Topeka, he was taken Aug. 5, 1998, to Hutchinson Correctional Facility.

Prison records show Lewis was a less-than-ideal inmate while at Hutchinson. He was disciplined seven times during the 2 1/2 years he was there, including citations for drug use, misconduct in the dining hall and poor work performance.

Each incident resulted in Lewis either spending time in a punitive unit or forfeiting “good time.”

Lewis was released on parole in December 2001. He again violated conditions of his parole and was returned to prison March 1, 2002. Lewis was taken to El Dorado Correctional Facility. After 11 days, he was transferred to Lansing Correctional Facility.

Thursday, Lewis was charged in the slayings of Pete Wallace and Wyona Chandlee, both 71, who police say interrupted a burglary in their home at 1530 Learnard Ave.