Police seek convict who fled South Jersey halfway house

A Chesilhurst man convicted of manslaughter who escaped from a Cumberland County halfway house overnight Sunday remained at large Monday afternoon, authorities said.

Lamont White, 36, who would have been eligible for parole in May, has no privileges to be off the grounds of Kintock House, a Bridgeton residential facility that helps prisoners near the end of a sentence prepare for life on the outside, authorities said.

The circumstances of White's escape are being investigated, said Matt Schuman, a Department of Corrections spokesman.

White had been in custody since January 2005. His conviction stemmed from a robbery in Winslow on June 19, 2004, that left a 63-year-old man dead after a drug transaction gone wrong.

The robbery victim, Antonio Matos, resisted. White punched him in the face, then-Camden County Prosecutor Vincent P. Sarubbi said. Matos fell to the ground and hit his head on the pavement. As he lay unconscious, White rifled through his pockets and robbed him, Sarubbi said at the time.

Matos died of head trauma three days later.

White had previous convictions for aggravated assault and distribution of drugs on a school property in 2003 in Camden County, records show.

White was sentenced in October 2007 to up to nine years on the manslaughter charge, up to seven years on aggravated-assault charges, and up to five years on drug distribution charges, records show.

White was incarcerated in Bayside State Prison in Cumberland County. His behavior made him eligible for transfer to a halfway house, Schuman said.

On Oct. 26, 2010, White was transported to Talbot Hall, a transitional facility in Kearney. He was moved to Kintock, a Department of Corrections residential facility run by a private contractor, on March 15, authorities said.

If found, White could have three to five years added to his sentence, authorities said.

White is 6 feet tall and weighs 245 pounds. He has used Lamont Bogger and Jonathan Edwards as aliases. Anyone with information is asked to call the Fugitive Unit at 1-800-523-3829.