Guard pleads not guilty to felony charges in NY prison break

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. -- A guard accused of inadvertently helping two killers escape from a northern New York prison has pleaded not guilty to felony charges.

Authorities have said Gene Palmer admitted providing Richard Matt and David Sweat with tools, paint and access to a catwalk electrical box at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, but that he never knew they planned to break out.

He was released on $25,000 bail in June after his arrest on charges of promoting prison contraband, tampering with evidence, and official misconduct.

The Plattsburgh Press Republican reports that Palmer waived his right to have the case heard by a grand jury and entered the not guilty plea on Wednesday.

He is currently suspended from his job without pay.

Joyce Mitchell, a former prison guard, was also involved in aiding the prison break. Mitchell was recently sentenced to up to 7 years in prison.

The prison escape was a three-week ordeal that sent 1,300 local, state and federal law enforcement officers into the thickly forested northern reaches of New York and forced residents to tolerate nerve-wracking armed checkpoints and property searches.

The manhunt ended when escaped prisoner David Sweat was wounded, struck twice in the torso. Sweat was caught less than two miles from the Canadian border days after he reportedly abandoned his partner, Richard Matt, who was shot and killed.