Escapee found in Omaha after 5-day search in 2016 will spend rest of his life in prison

Escapee found in Omaha after 5-day search in 2016 will spend rest of his life in prison
The Associated Press

When police finally caught up with prison escapee Timothy Clausen, they found him sitting on an upstairs toilet in an apartment in north Omaha, a revolver beside him.

The June 2016 capture capped five days of searching after Clausen and fellow inmate Armon Dixon escaped from the Lincoln Correctional Center. The two hid in laundry baskets and left in a truck headed for the Tecumseh prison, before cutting a hole in the top of the truck and going on the lam.

On Monday, Clausen was sentenced to another 80-140 years in prison for the escape, theft, and fleeing to avoid arrest.

Clausen, 54, already was serving a sentence of more than 50 years for first-degree sexual assault of a child. Together, the sentences effectively mean a life sentence for the inmate.

After the two left the laundry truck, they stole another vehicle, then separated. Dixon was arrested the day after the escape in Lincoln, but not before assaulting two women. The two sued the state earlier this month in connection with the assault.

After the escape, Frakes apologized, saying several lapses in security had allowed Dixon and inmate Timothy Clausen to escape.

“This should not have happened,” Frakes said at the time.

Six Lincoln Correctional Center employees, including senior management, were disciplined in connection with the escape.

Dixon was sentenced last year to 30-60 years for the escape and 20 years for the assault.

After the two separated, an Omaha woman, Wanda Minor, picked up Clausen and drove him to Omaha. Charged as an accessory, she was sentenced last year  to two years’ probation.

It was a CrimeStoppers tip that led to Clausen’s arrest at the Spencer Apartments, police said afterward. Two hours after the tip came in, police had surrounded the apartments and rushed in to find Clausen.

“He was surprised. He knew it was over,” Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said.

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