Dog trainer awaiting hearing
Woman suspected in prison escape hasn't posted bond
The Kansas dog trainer who was captured in February in Tennessee and accused of helping a convicted murderer escape from the Lansing Correctional Facility remains in jail on $100,000 bond.
Toby Young, the 48-year-old Kansas City, Kan., woman and mother of two, is scheduled to next appear in Leavenworth County District Court on April 21.
The hearing is labeled on the docket as an appearance with her attorney, said Debra Owens, a spokeswoman for the Leavenworth County Attorney’s Office.
“It could be anything at this point,” Owens said, and referred to the court appearance as a possible scheduling or even a plea agreement if one is reached.
Young was a prison volunteer and president of the Safe Harbor Prison Dog program. She now faces charges of aiding and abetting aggravated escape and aiding a felon.
Kansas Department of Corrections officials and other authorities allege that on Feb. 12 several inmates loaded convict John M. Manard into a Safe Harbor van that Young drove out of the prison.
After days of regional and national media attention, federal investigators caught Young and Manard on Feb. 24 in Tennessee. Authorities say the couple stayed at a remote cabin in rural Alpine, Tenn.
Manard is serving a life sentence for the 1996 carjacking and murder of Donald England in Johnson County, and he has been returned to Lansing Correctional Facility. Owens said Thursday that prosecutors had not yet filed charges against Manard for the escape.
Jim Yoakum, Young’s attorney, did not immediately return calls seeking comment. After Young’s first court appearance in March, Yoakum said his client would not contest her bond and that her family continued to support her.
Owens also said the county attorney’s office was continuing to prepare for the case against Young like any other.