Saturday, April 4, 1998 | 11:26 a.m.
Investigators said they believe Steven Schaff, 40, used the device to open the locks on his handcuffs and ankle cuffs as he rode in a prison van Thursday to a doctor's office in Carson City.
Correctional officer Charles Looman shot Schaff once in the back only seconds after the inmate bolted from the parked van outside the office. He died at the scene.
The metal lock-picking device was discovered Friday during an autopsy, sheriff's detective Fred Schoenfeldt said.
"It was small enough to conceal cleverly on the inmate's body, but the exact location of the device is not being revealed at this time," he said. "That will likely become part of the investigation."
Looman was placed on paid administrative leave pending a routine review of the shooting.
Schaff had served 10 years of a 40-year prison term at the Nevada State Prison on two counts of attempted murder in Clark County.
After finishing his time in Nevada, he was to be sent to Arizona to serve a life sentence on a murder conviction in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix.
Prison spokesman Glen Whorton declined comment about the lock-picking device.
"I won't comment on what it was or how he may have obtained it," Whorton said.
The Nevada Corrections Association issued a statement commending the officers and their actions.
"Schaff was clearly a very dangerous and violent inmate," said Ed Flagg, association president. "The Nevada correctional officers were displaying the highest standards of their profession in protecting the public."
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