WHEELING, W.Va. — A man who was convicted late last year of breaking into 16 Lawrence County churches and one residence is on the loose.

Robert Crum, 27, of Huntington, was one of two inmates who escaped Monday morning from the Ohio County Correctional Center in Wheeling during kitchen duty.

Crum, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison for his Lawrence County convictions, was being held for a parole violation for a nighttime burglary conviction in West Virginia. Crum is no stranger to law enforcement throughout the Tri-State.

“We retrieved him from West Virginia when he asked to be brought back here and have his case (in Lawrence County) settled while he was in prison there,” Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Jeff Lawless said. “So we brought him back here and he was found guilty and once he was sentenced here, he was sent back to West Virginia.”

Crum and another man, Matthew Putnam, 23, broke a lock in the kitchen area of the minimum security facility and then scaled a fence at about 5:30 a.m. Monday, said prison Administrator William Yurcina.

Yurcina said he doesn’t believe the men are dangerous.

Crum’s next parole hearing in West Virginia was set for December. He was slated for release in West Virginia in 2008.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.