Inmate says escape was 'piece of cake'

HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) - The inmate who escaped from the Hampton Correctional Facility Tuesday says getting away was 'a piece of cake.'

Michael Stanback, 28, was on the run for two days. Police arrested him Thursday night at a home on Reed Street in Hampton. Stanback is serving a 14-year sentence for armed robbery, but insists he isn't dangerous.

"I'm trying to get home to my family," said Stanback from jail Friday.

Watch the full interview with Stanback here.

When asked how he got away, Stanback told WAVY.com he climbed over the brick wall and barbed wire in the recreation yard. He says no one noticed for hours.

"It felt easy," Stanback said. "I'm not going to lie to you. It felt like a piece of cake."

WAVY.com asked Stanback how many jail workers were watching the recreation area. He said he only noticed one in an overhead booth. Wednesday, the Sheriff's Office held its ground when 10 On Your Side asked about security.

"We wouldn't do anything differently," said Lt. Alonzo Cherry, a spokesman for the Hampton Sheriff's Office.

"There's more stuff they could have done, if they don't want nobody to leave," said Stanback.

While he was on the run, Stanback stayed at a Hampton home with a woman he calls 'a friend of a friend.' A woman answered the door Friday, but wouldn't identify herself.

"Leave me alone!" she said through the door.

And if you're wondering what Stanback was doing, he said he walked around in public freely, not worried about being caught.

"I got a haircut," said Stanback. "I went to the barbershop and got a haircut."

Stanback had much longer hair in the booking photo the sheriff's office provided to the media, but he sported a buzz cut Friday.

Now, back behind bars, Stanback is asking for the public's help.

"Y'all helped lock me up. Now help get me home to my babies," Stanback said.

Stanback now faces new charges for his escape. No charges have been filed against the woman who lives at the home where he was found.

Stanback has been transferred to the Hampton Roads Regional Jail in Portsmouth for security reasons.