I am tracking, as best I can, those individuals who have proactively refused the hospitality of the Government, i.e. escaped from prison …or the county jail or the local lockup.
I will on days when there is prison break news. If a comment seems fitting, I add one at the end of the story. If not, I don't. If there are no prison escapes on a given day, I don't blog. So now, while the guard isn’t looking…
The Jailer just Happened to Be in the Cuff Key Business
From the Durant (Oklahoma) Daily Democrat…
An inmate who bolted Wednesday while being led back to jail after a court hearing unlocked his leg and arm restraints with a handcuff key that he bought from a jailer, authorities said.
The jailer was arrested Wednesday evening and is being held in another county. He is expected to be charged Friday. Bryan County Sheriff Bill Sturch said they reviewed the courthouse surveillance footage and determined that Billy Joe Wallace, 18, …who was quickly captured, was restrained and also chained to other inmates before he escaped. According to Sturch, Wallace had obtained a key from a jailer to open the handcuffs and leg irons. Investigators believe Wallace unlocked the leg irons while in the jury box and that he opened the handcuffs after being led outside. The leg irons were still on his ankles while he was being led back to jail but were unlocked.
“He had communicated with at least two people outside of the jail that he was going to do this,” Sturch said. “This was all planned.”
Wallace ran while the door outside of the jail was being opened according to the sheriff’s office, and he then got into a car that was parked in the alley behind First Christian Church across the street from the library. Authorities said he then drove to Taco Casa where he picked up his girlfriend and a 17-year-old boy. A few minutes later, a Durant officer who was on Rodeo Road saw a silver Honda Accord traveling on Highway 78. Sturch said every exit from the city [was] sealed within three minutes.
Authorities said that speeds [in the chase] exceeded 100 miles per hour. Calera Police [roadblocks] were set up at the highways 78 and 70E intersection at Chuck’s Corner and Wallace turned around and headed back toward Durant, according to Sturch.
“I’ll bet you 25 squad cars were behind him between Durant and Chuck’s Corner — he didn’t have a prayer,” Sturch said.
Deputy Shawn Pierce used road spikes and deflated the car’s front tires, according to Sturch, and the chase ended with a crash on East Locust Street. Wallace was tackled and brought back to jail. A Durant officer suffered an injured shoulder during the scuffle.
The escape was reported to the communications center at the Durant Police Department at 9:54 a.m. and Wallace was back in custody less than 20 minutes later.
His girlfriend was arrested for suspicion of aiding and abetting escape and the juvenile was also taken into custody. Authorities said the teen knew of the escape plans and he could be charged as an adult.
The woman who owned the car told investigators that she had been asked to come pick up some of Wallace’s property from the jail and that she was not aware of the escape plans. She said Wallace told her to get out of the vehicle and that he got in and drove away. She has not been arrested.
Sheriff’s Investigator John Bates said Wallace’s girlfriend placed a decoy 911 call claiming she was being chased on Ranchette Road in a failed attempt to divert officers to the west side of the city. She also said the escape had been planned for approximately one week, Bates said.
“This was a well-planned thing,” Bates said. “They had to have a lot of things go right.”
According to Bates, the jailer admitted to selling Wallace the key. An investigation is continuing and authorities said there may be additional arrests.
Wallace will be locked down and the next time he is escorted to a court appearance, it will be with an armed deputy, according to Sturch, who said Wallace is now facing 25-30 years in prison. Wallace was initially jailed on a first-degree robbery charge.
his was not the first time Wallace escaped. On May 4, he fled after he was brought to the emergency room for a head injury, according to the sheriff’s office. Sturch said Wallace was free a little more than 32 hours until he was arrested at Stone Creek Baptist Church by Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers. A jailer was fired because Wallace was not wearing handcuffs and leg irons while at the hospital. Wallace was charged with escape for that incident and ordered held without bail.
Three Escapees Caught in Jieshou City, China
From chinaview.cn and Xinhua News Agency:
Police have caught all three prison escapees who broke away with violence on May 23 from a prison in east China's Jieshou City, Anhui Province, a senior police officer said Friday.
Cai Zhaoliang, police chief of Fuyang City, which administrates Jieshou, said the three escapees were caught in neighboring Henan Province Thursday. Cai said inmate Wang Hanyu was the chief instigator of the premeditated prison break. He died in the attempt, after he cut his femoral artery on the iron halberd on the prison gate and failed [to get?] emergency care.
Three other inmates escaped from the detention center: Guo Wenwu, 20, serving 11 years; Guo Bingwei, 24, doing 8 years; and Liu Kai, a 17-year-old in custody [pending sentencing?]. The three were convicted of theft and robbery.
Cai said Jieshou Prison is overcrowded, and lacks sufficient police personnel to guarantee security. The four escapees shared the same ward with 15 other inmates. They pretended to be fighting at about 1:50 a.m. and escaped when police opened the door to stop the fighting. …Prison officer Ma Hui entered the ward with five other guards. …Ma did not lock the corridor door when he opened the ward. The [escapees] hit Ma [in the] head and ran directly toward the prison gate. After the incident, Ma and another prison officer were detained for investigation, and the prison chief and a prosecutor were removed from their posts.
Help from “inside” seems to be theme this week…
Don’t Worry, The Supervisor is Going to Be Okay
From WTVC Channel 9 in Chattanooga, Tennessee…
A spokesman with the Floyd County Prison says 41-year-old Jack Belcher took off while he was on work detail. Deputy Warden of Security, David Jackson, says Belcher asked the guard on duty if he could use the restroom. Then they heard squealing tires, and saw Belcher speeding off in a City of Rome pick up truck.
Officials working this case do not know if Belcher is armed. The escape happened around 1:30 this afternoon [May 28]. The U.S. Marshal's Office and Fugitive Squad have been trying to find Belcher ever since. They say they have leads, but can't release them. It is not known if Belcher has family or friends in the Chattanooga area. Jackson says it's possible Belcher is on the way to Texas, but couldn't confirm that.
Jack Belcher has brown hair and blues eyes. He's 5'7' and weighs 160 pounds. He was last seen in Rome City Ford F-150. If you think you have seen Jack Belcher, call 911. Jackson says the supervisor working during the escape will not be reprimanded.
NZ's longest prison break
From the Sunday News, New Zealand…
Convicted extortionist Brandon Victor Pillay is New Zealand's greatest prison escaper. The South African migrant walked off a Rangipo Prison detail, and is on the run ... eight years later. And Sunday News has been told Pillay's "walkaway escape" is the most common method Kiwi inmates use to break free.
Pillay who fled the Tongariro-based jail on August 10, 2001 is New Zealand's longest-running escapee in recent history according to statistics released to Sunday News under the Official Information Act.
At the time of his escape, the then 24-year-old Pillay described as 171cm tall, of skinny build with black hair and brown eyes and speaking with a strong South African accent was serving a 15-month sentence for extortion. He was one of seven prisoners to escape from Rangipo Prison that year.
A Department of Corrections spokesman said Pillay, of South African and Indian descent, was the "longest escapee since at least the early 90s".
The next longest time a prisoner had recently spent at large was believed to have been the almost seven years by William Gordon Brough. Part way through a four-year term for drug-related crimes, Brough escaped from Wanganui prison on August 16, 2002 and evaded capture until March this year.
Corrections said escapees are generally captured within a week.
Pillay and Brough's escape methods were classified as "other" by Corrections meaning they simply walked away from the prison or a jail-related programme. Between August 2007 and March 2009, 23 prisoners escaped that way.
Prison Services executive services manager Kelley Reeve said the "walkaway escape" was "the most common method of escape used" by Kiwi prisoners and Corrections was addressing the issue.
Between July 2007 and March 2009, 10 other prisoners escaped by breaking out of either their prison, a police cell, a court complex or "any other place of custodial control".
A total of 33 prisoners escaped from New Zealand prisons between July 2007 and March 2009. The jail with the single most escapes was Waikeria Prison, near Te Awamutu, with four prisoners walking out of custody and two breaking out.
Prison escapes have been on the decline over the past decade, from 89 in the 1996-1997 financial year to 19 during 2006/2007.
Scottish Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill was facing fresh calls to quit last night after a convicted murderer went on the run from the same jail another violent criminal had fled just over a week earlier.
A furious political row broke out when it emerged that both he and First Minister Alex Salmond knew killer John Brown had absconded from a Tayside open prison but did not mention it during a debate in the Scottish Parliament about an earlier incident involving Brian “Hawk” Martin.
As police continued to hunt for 57-year-old Brown, Labour leader Iain Gray described the ministers’ actions as “completely unacceptable” and urged Mr. Salmond to apologise.
Brown failed to return to Castle Huntly jail, near Dundee, on Wednesday after being given home leave. His disappearance came two days after Martin handed himself in to police a week after going on the run from Castle Huntly. Brown was transferred to Castle Huntly from Shotts Prison in Lanarkshire on February 12 and was serving a life sentence after being convicted of murder at the High Court in Glasgow in 1976.
Brown is described as 5ft 5in, with short, brown hair and green eyes. He has links with the Glasgow area. Tayside Police urged anyone who had seen Brown or had information about his whereabouts to contact them.
Martin, 51, was jailed in 2006 for a shotgun attack on a former drug dealer in his Fife home.
It emerged last night that both Mr Salmond and Mr MacAskill had been told about Brown’s disappearance on Wednesday evening, but kept quiet at Holyrood [the Scottish Parliament] yesterday.
Mr Gray said it was “inexcusable” that the first minister did not tell parliament about Brown’s disappearance: “It is incredible to think that Alex Salmond thought it best not to inform parliament of this development. His actions do not befit the office of first minister. …Mr MacAskill’s failure to deal with this debacle means he must go, but the first minister is also hugely damaged by this affair.”
On Monday, the day Martin handed himself in to police, Mr MacAskill said he had been informed by the Scottish Prison Service that Martin had previously escaped from prison 22 years ago.
The Escapees Under The Stairs
From KansasCity.com…
JEFFERSON CITY --A public defender told a Cole County judge Wednesday that 33-year-old Christopher Sims was not guilty of first-degree murder in the pickaxe killing of 28-year-old Toby Viles.
Sims and another inmate, Shannon Phillips, were found after nearly four days behind the hollow bottom of a staircase — less than 10 yards from where the killing happened in a basement at the Missouri State Penitentiary.
Sims is currently an inmate at the Jefferson City Correctional Center. He has been in prison since 1998 after being convicted and sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder and armed criminal action.
Phillips previously was sentenced to life in prison in the killing.
It's One At a Time in Washington State
From KIMATV.com in Washington State…
Yakima -- As one offender is put behind bars another escapes.
Billy Garner was at the Ahtanum View work release program, a partial confinement facility. Garner had a pass to go to Wal-Mart Saturday but never came back. He was arrested Wednesday in Ritzville, but we were just told about it Thursday which made us a little nervous. "It is our policy and procedure to notify the public about prison escapes, so the key here is to recognize the difference between an escape from a prison and an escape from a work release facility."
Department of Corrections tells us Garner will not return to the work release program. He'll now go to prison, which would mean it is policy to let us know if he gets away from there.
Another Jailer-Aided Escape
From the Durant (Oklahoma) Daily Democrat…
DURANT — An inmate who bolted Wednesday while being led back to jail after a court hearing unlocked his leg and arm restraints with a handcuff key that he bought from a jailer, authorities said.
The jailer was arrested Wednesday evening and is being held in another county. He is expected to be charged Friday.
Bryan County Sheriff Bill Sturch said they reviewed the courthouse surveillance footage and determined that Billy Joe Wallace, 18, Durant, who was quickly captured, was restrained and also chained to other inmates before he escaped.
According to Sturch, Wallace had obtained a key from a jailer to open the handcuffs and leg irons. Investigators believe Wallace unlocked the leg irons while in the jury box and that he opened the handcuffs after being led outside. The leg irons were still on his ankles while he was being led back to jail but were unlocked.
“He had communicated with at least two people outside of the jail that he was going to do this,” Sturch said. “This was all planned.”
Wallace ran while the door outside of the jail was being opened according to the sheriff’s office, and he then got into a car that was parked in the alley behind First Christian Church across the street from the library.
Authorities said he then drove to Taco Casa where he picked up his girlfriend and a 17-year-old boy. A few minutes later, a Durant officer who was on Rodeo Road saw a silver Honda Accord traveling on Highway 78. Sturch said every exit from the city had been sealed within three minutes.
Authorities said that speeds exceeded 100 miles per hour.
Calera Police were set up at the highways 78 and 70E intersection at Chuck’s Corner and Wallace turned around and headed back toward Durant, according to Sturch.
“I’ll bet you 25 squad cars were behind him between Durant and Chuck’s Corner — he didn’t have a prayer,” Sturch said.
Deputy Shawn Pierce used road spikes and deflated the car’s front tires, according to Sturch, and the chase ended with a crash on East Locust Street. Wallace was tackled and brought back to jail. A Durant officer suffered an injured shoulder during the scuffle.
The escape was reported to the communications center at the Durant Police Department at 9:54 a.m. and Wallace was back in custody less than 20 minutes later.
His girlfriend was arrested for suspicion of aiding and abetting escape and the juvenile was also taken into custody. Authorities said the teen knew of the escape plans and he could be charged as an adult.
The woman who owned the car told investigators that she had been asked to come pick up some of Wallace’s property from the jail and that she was not aware of the escape plans. She said Wallace told her to get out of the vehicle and that he got in and drove away. She has not been arrested.
Sheriff’s Investigator John Bates said Wallace’s girlfriend placed a decoy 911 call claiming she was being chased on Ranchette Road in a failed attempt to divert officers to the west side of the city.
She also said the escape had been planned for approximately one week, Bates said.
“This was a well-planned thing,” Bates said. “They had to have a lot of things go right.”
According to Bates, the jailer admitted to selling Wallace the key.
An investigation is continuing and authorities said there may be additional arrests.
Wallace will be locked down and the next time he is escorted to a court appearance, it will be with an armed deputy, according to Sturch, who said Wallace is now facing 25-30 years in prison. Wallace was initially jailed on a first-degree robbery charge.
According to Sturch, Wallace planned the getaway by communicating through the inmate telephone system and by mail. Inmates are allowed to make collect telephone calls.
Investigators are working on reports about the incident and in addition to an escape charge, Wallace is expected to be hit with other charges, including attempting to elude police and running a roadblock, according to Sturch.
This was not the first time Wallace escaped. On May 4, he fled after he was brought to the emergency room for a head injury, according to the sheriff’s office. Sturch said Wallace was free a little more than 32 hours until he was arrested at Stone Creek Baptist Church by Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers. A jailer was fired because Wallace was not wearing handcuffs and leg irons while at the hospital. Wallace was charged with escape for that incident and ordered held without bail.
That's it for today. I will post again when and if there is news. After all, people don't escape from prison every day, do they?
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