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OSP nabs escaped rapist in Salem By JILL BRISKEY Mail Tribune A rapist who escaped prison by hiding inside stacks of empty milk crates held together with shrink-wrap was captured Wednesday in Salem. Oregon State Police troopers spotted Leighton Wayne Bates, who has family in Central Point, walking alone at 12:30 p.m. along an east Salem street. Bates, 41, who escaped from the Oregon State Correctional Institution on Monday, was arrested without incident, said Sgt. Mike Scanlon of the Salem Police Department. Bates was transferred to Oregon State Penitentiary, where he will most likely face charges of sexual assault, kidnapping, escape and burglary. Bates was serving a nearly 40-year sentence for rape, robbery and kidnapping when he fled. In addition, Bates had previous convictions of including first-degree rape, attempted rape, first-degree burglary and second-degree escape and was considered dangerous to women. Public information officer Gerald Long of the correctional institution said Bates escaped the medium-security facility while working at a loading bay within the prison. Long speculated that one inmate stacked empty, plastic milk cartons around Bates' 5-foot-9 frame and then wrapped the containers with shrink-wrap, effectively concealing Bates inside. The truck and its cargo were driven to a distribution center several miles away, Long said. Inmates from a minimum-security facility discovered Bates while unloading the empty cartons, Long said. Bates told the inmates he was a new member of their work crew and ran away before a supervisor could be found, Long added. Authorities feared Bates would head to Jackson County, where his family lives, but he never made it. Monday night, police said Bates hid himself in the laundry room of a Salem apartment complex and took a woman hostage. He stayed the night inside the woman's apartment, police said. Scanlon said Bates sexually assaulted the woman and took the victim's adult son hostage as well. On Christmas day, Bates forced the woman to drive him to Silver Falls State Park, 20 miles east of Salem. "He's going to have some stuff to deal with," Scanlon said. "Our charges will be referred to the (Marion County) district attorney's office." In September, Bates pleaded guilty to multiple charges in Jackson County Circuit Court. He admitted to posing as a stranded motorist in order to kidnap and rape a Eugene teenager near Springfield. At the time, he was wanted by police. Bates stole the victim's vehicle after the rape and crashed it near Gold Hill. Days later, he robbed an acquaintance at gunpoint in Gold Hill and stole the man's vehicle. He was captured while walking alone on Old Stage Road. Bates arrived at the correctional institution Oct. 25, and Long said during his incarceration there were no reports of criminal behavior. The circumstances surrounding Bates escape are under investigation. Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.