First Posted: 1/28/2015
LIMA — Nearly three months after the warden of a local prison was reassigned following a high-profile escape of three inmates, the facility has a new warden.
Ed Sheldon was named this week the new warden at Allen Oakwood Correctional Institution. Sheldon was the warden at Toledo Correctional Institution since 2011. He is credited with turning around that prison, which had higher levels of violence, including inmate murders, low staff morale, staff turnover and other issues.
Sheldon moves into the spot held by Kevin Jones, who was moved in November to another job in Columbus after the Sept. 11 escape of three inmates, including Chardon High School killer Thomas “T.J.” Lane. Two other inmates, including a child killer from Columbus, also escaped. The men were captured near the prison hiding in the hours that followed.
A deputy warden was demoted after the escape at the medium-security prison for men that houses about 1,600 inmates.
Sheldon, 52, began his career with the state prison system in 1989 as a correctional officer. His first warden assignment was at North Central Correctional Institution in 2008. He remained in that job until 2011 when he was moved to Toledo to be the warden at that prison, said JoEllen Smith, a spokeswoman for the state prison system.
There have been no other personnel moves since Jones’ reassignment, Smith said.
Jones was moved to the central office in Columbus to work as a regional recovery service supervisor. The state prison system did not call his reassignment a demotion.
Ron Erdos served as interim warden at the local prison after Jones was reassigned. He will return to his position as the department’s special operations commander at the central office in Columbus, Smith said.
