Killer Escapes "Jail"

Killer to Canadian Prison: Au Revoir

Adapted from Canadian Media:

Convicted of shooting a Toronto man in 1989, Andrew John Wood simply walked away from the minimum security Frontenac Institution in Kingston, Ontario on June 13. Wood, 42, was discovered missing during an inmate count

Robert Ryan Glenn, 21, was found on the shoulder of a side road in Albion in February 1989. He had been shot in the head “execution style.” Wood was convicted of second-degree murder in Glenn’s death. Wood was serving a life sentence.

Officials are puzzled as to why Wood would risk his parole eligibility, as well as risk losing all the privileges he enjoyed at Frontenac. He was moved to Frontenac because of his good behavior.

Frontenac Institute has a minimum of security guards, no fences, prison walls or guard towers. Frontenac encourages autonomy to prepare inmates for their eventual release back into society.

Unsurprisingly, this is not the first time someone has walked away from Frontenac. In 2007, Robert Ongaro became the 5th person to escape from Frontenac. According to Correctional Service of Canada there were two escapes in 2006. Wood's escape is the first this year from the institution.

“Even though their offence may be severe, through a very careful analysis of each individual case and response to treatment needs, etc., offenders may present over time, less risk to re-offend or a low risk to public safety,” said Holly Knowles, a spokeswoman for Correction Services of Canada.

There was no immediate indication of what triggered the escape and “it would not be fair to speculate,” said Knowles.

Are these Canadians serious? How about, because he wanted to stop being in jail, however humane the “treatment.” Speaking of “treatment,” the only treatment they could give Wood’s victim was an embalming and a dignified funeral.

Lifer Escapes County Jail

Adapted from the Moultrie Observer, Moultrie Georgia:

Members of the Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office spent Monday afternoon and evening searching for an inmate who escaped.

CCSO Capt. Julius Cox, operations supervisor, said Anthony Moses Jordan, 31, of Norcross, escaped from the jail about 1:20 p.m. Monday. He had not been caught as of early Monday evening.

Jordan was able to escape when about 20 other inmates began acting like they were going to get into a fight while in the jail yard, Cox said. When a jailer went to break up the fight, which authorities believe was staged, someone helped Jordan climb onto the jail’s roof.

Once on the roof, Cox said Jordan took off his prison jumpsuit, jumped onto the roof of the jail’s control area then leapt onto the ground. One control room operator reported hearing a thump on the roof about the time of Jordan’s escape, and another jailer reported seeing him run through the jail’s parking lot.

Jordan was found guilty of burglary, two counts of armed robbery and two counts of aggravated assault stemming from a residential burglary in May. He was sentenced to two life sentences in prison plus 20 years on the charges.


Basque Rebels’ Plan to Escape Prison by ‘Copter is Foiled

From Spanish media:

13 June 2009--A plot by Basque separatists, including a would-be assassin of King Juan Carlos, to escape Huelva prison by helicopter and flee into Portugal, has been foiled according to the Interior Ministry.

One of the failed escapees is Jorge Garcia Sertutxa, convicted in 1995 of conspiring to kill King Juan Carlos and sentenced to 109 years in jail. Sertutxa and at least two other prisoners are being interrogated about their involvement in the plot. One of the prisoners' girlfriends and a lawyer from Bilbao are also reported to have been arrested.


That’s all for now. I still can’t believe the Canadians discuss the “treatment” of a murderer as if murder was a sickness and the killer is really a patient --or a victim. Oh well. I will be back when I have more escapes to tell you about.

Escaped Inmate Shot Dead! ( Your 1 June 2009 Escapee Round-up)

India Jailbreak Leader Shot Dead

From The Telegram of Calcutta, India:

Shillong: A gang leader who walked out of Shillong jail with six others yesterday was gunned down by police after a chase in a Jaintia Hills forest, just 40 km away, this afternoon.

Full Moon Dhar, 23, lodged in Shillong prison for rape and twin murders …was crossing Kdonghati forest near Nartiang, some 40 km from Shillong, along with five of his mates when the police caught up with him. Dhar was shot when he opened fire on the policemen, barely 30 hours after he sneaked out of Shillong jail with his gang.

Two of the escaped prisoners, Khrawborlang Marbaniang and Synsharilang Thongi, were arrested but three others, Kharboklang Mawnai, Sankyntiewlang Decruse, and Wanshailang Jana, fled. The gang’s local guide, Host Sutnga, was also apprehended. Another escapee, Ramu Thapa, was not with the gang when the police found them.

The seven had escaped just after tea at 7.20 a.m. yesterday, when Dhar fired a round in the air and the rest overpowered the guard at the prison’s second gate. Police said Sutnga was waiting outside the prison with a car in which the prisoners escaped. They travelled through the night in the vehicle to Puriang in the Jaintia Hills and trekked to Kdonghati forest near Nartiang to avoid the police.

East Khasi Hills superintendent of police L.B. Rapthap said a few youths at a stone quarry at Puriang noticed the gang around 8.30am and reported the matter to the police.

Meghalaya director-general of police Anil Pradhan said acting on the information, a police team from Shillong rushed to the area and decided to launch an operation with the help of Jowai police, led by its superintendent of police M.K. Singh.

The police found the gang in Kdonghati forest. Dhar began firing from his revolver, prompting the police to retaliate. The encounter lasted for about 30 minutes till Dhar fell to police bullets.

DGP Pradhan later said two warders in Shillong jail, Raju Sunar and Sajan Kumar Rai, were arrested by the police for interrogation for their involvement in the jailbreak. Dhar used to speak on Sunar’s mobile to friends and relatives, the police said. Rai is also among the four who were suspended by the additional director-general of prisons, Kulbir Krishan. The other three suspended jail staff are head warder Edward Wahlang, naik S. Warbah and guard Bharat Singh.

Preliminary investigations revealed interesting facts Dhar’s lifestyle in prison. Night parties, accompanied by music, were part of Dhar’s “in-prison” entertainment.

According to the police, liquor flowed regularly in the jail and Dhar managed to sneak in money sent by businessmen in the Jaintia Hills to the inmates.

“Every Saturday, Dhar used to organise parties inside the jail and liquor and food were brought from outside with the help of jail employees,” a police official said.

I didn’t provide a map. We all know where these places are… BTW, this seems to be the week for guard-assisted jailbreaks.

Guam: Killer’s Escape Plot Foiled by Inside Tip

Adapted from the Pacific Daily News and other reports, Guam:

A convicted murderer's plan to break out of prison was foiled thanks to a tip to Department of Corrections staff received yesterday, says Corrections Director J.B. Palacios.

Convicted murderer Frank Pangelinan, serving a life sentence for killing a man in 1998, allegedly planned to escape during a roster change on June 14, Palacios said. Guards would have been less familiar with their prisoners on that day, Palacios added.

The tipster informed DOC employees that Pangelinan had managed to acquire a cell phone and a flat, sharpened piece of metal he could use to pick a lock. After searching his cell, guards found the items hidden in the light fixtures.

The entire DOC facility was placed on lockdown Monday as officials received information about a plot to escape from Post 6 - the Special Housing Unit - the one place in the agency that is considered the prison within the prison, making it all the more unacceptable that the items got inside, Palacios said. Only employees and prisoners, who should be searched, enter that area.

Other prisoners, including inmates Bruno Simmons and suspected mastermind Frank Chargualaf, were able to get their hands on two cell phones, the homemade key, and a Swiss Army Knife. "We can state for sure that the inmates didn't go out and purchase those cell phones so it got in, whether it got in from the staff or not, is really irrelevant, the fact that there was a lapse in security to a point where these items made it inside the supposed to be most secure unit at the Department of Corrections," Palacios continued.

"If there is any staff involvement, that staff will be prosecuted criminally," Palacios said, adding that the DOC internal affairs division has already begun investigating how the contraband got into the prison.

Pangelinan was convicted of slaying Joseph Alig in 1998. Pangelinan repeatedly pistol-whipped Alig breaking bones and ribs. Pangelinan chopped off Alig’s foot before he was shooting him in the head and chest. Pangelinan showed no remorse during his sentencing, smirking at family members of the victim in court.

In 2005, Pangelinan was one of three inmates who led authorities on a week-long chase across the island after he escaped through a fence that was under construction. Pangelinan was eventually surrounded by police at a gas station in Hagåtña.

The escape attempt may mean time in a Super-Max facility Stateside for Pangelinan. Palacios said Pangelinan is too dangerous to be allowed to stay on Guam. Although prisoners who attempt to escape face another felony charge, Palacios said the murderer won't be dissuaded from another attempt unless he is imprisoned elsewhere.

Chargualaf is currently serving a life sentence for murder. He previously escaped in 2003. Chargualaf now faces additional charges of possession of prison contraband and planning an escape. Criminal charges will also be imposed upon Simmons.

Investigate 5 Officers in Double Escape: Inmates Fled Dressed as Guards

Adapted from news services, Arkansas:

LITTLE ROCK -- Five unnamed prison guards are on unpaid leave while Arkansas authorities investigate how two convicted killers from the Cummins Unit in Grady by putting on guard uniforms.

Under investigation is the Friday evening escape of Jeffrey Grinder and Calvin Adams. The guards in question were guarding the entry and exit points of the prison.

Prison guard and police uniforms are made in Cummins’ workshops, ready made disguises for Grinder and Adams who can be seen on surveillance videotapes putting uniforms on in the prison library just before the breakout. The men made the switch just after the 6 p.m. head count.

A car was waiting outside the prison for the duo, which simply walked past guard checkpoints, exited the prison and drove away.

Militants Storm Prison in E Afghanistan

From Chinese news sources: KABUL-- Anti-government militants raided a prison in the Laghman province of east Afghanistan Saturday night.. "Armed Taliban fighters attacked the jail in the provincial capital Meterlam but caused no loss of life or damage," says the local daily paper Arman-e-Millie. The Saturday attack inflicted casualties on jail officials, according to Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid. The Taliban claims this was the second attack on the prison in the past month. In the previous attack on the same jail, one Taliban detainee was killed and another made good his escape. In another incident on the same day, Taliban fighters gunned down a jail official in Helmand province south of Afghanistan.

Wanna-be Murderer Slips From Work-Release

From local media:

A man convicted of attempted murder has escaped from the work release program in Davenport, Illinois officials said.

Royal Nate Wells, 48, sentenced to 75 years in December 1986, is on the run after his “unexcused absence” was recorded Sunday night. He has been on work release since May 19.

Youth Spurns New Beginnings

From Washington DC blog, “Press Room,” at http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/

A day after local pooh-bahs at Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services opened its New Beginnings Youth Center, a New Beginnings inmate escaped.

With much fanfare, the facility replaced the infamous Oak Hill juvenile detention facility. Officials had trumpeted its very un-jail like setting; local media had repeatedly compared it to a college campus.

“This is the anti-prison,” Vincent N. Schiraldi, director of the DYRS, told the Post in a story that made it seem like New Beginnings was a St. Albans branch campus only better. “What we had before was a training school for them to become adult inmates. We want them to aspire to college, to be in a place that looks like you care about them.”

The press had noted that New Beginnings was not surrounded by razor wire. Instead, officials stated that the facility’s security was pure state-of-the-art Gattaca s***—”climb-free fencing” and “detention-grade windows.” New Beginnings’ central campus-like feature was a sweet courtyard; it also had a cafeteria, library, gym, and automated bathroom time (!). Apparently, none of the new features nor the intimidating “climb-free fencing” could prevent an [unnamed] kid from bolting the $46 million Laurel campus.

The kid is still out there. An internal investigation is underway to determine how the kid escaped. Meanwhile, the Post provides some hilarious details on the city’s security tests:

“On Thursday, Schiraldi and David Muhammad, chief of Committed Services, said they had brought in young men to try to scale the New Beginnings fences and made modifications to prevent escapes. Schiraldi even said he planned to put prickly shrubbery, possibly rose bushes, near the fence so the young men would not be tempted to flee.”

“No way man! No way I’m goin’ through no ROSE BUSHES…” And to think they dare to call that place in Colorado “Super Max.”

And from WUSA TV9:

A 17 year old inmate who escaped from the District's new $46 million youth facility was recaptured Wednesday afternoon according to the department of Youth Rehabilitation Services; but what the department didn't say is two more inmates also tried to escape during the same prison break this past weekend.

Sources tell Nine News Now that three inmates broke for the fence in the courtyard in an attempt to scale a pole attached to a fence.

Two of the juveniles were captured by Correctional Officers inside the New Beginnings Youth Center. A third managed to get to the roof and then drop down on the other side of the fence to freedom.

Correctional officers say they advised city officials before the new less restrictive facility opened that razor wire and other enhanced security measures were necessary to prevent such escapes.

Tasha Williams, the union representative for the officers, says razor wire is now being installed {emphasis added] and Youth Rehabilitation Services officials are scheduled to meet with them about other security matters.

That’s it, I quit. More great escapes tomorrow …if they happen. If not, we’ll see you when they do.