Category Archives: Escapes
man in court after jail van escape
A man charged with escaping lawful custody after two people were sprung from a prison van will appear in court today.
Stevie McMullen, 21, will appear before Manchester magistrates, Greater Manchester Police said.
Two men aged 27 and 25 who were arrested on Sunday near Lancaster University on suspicion of assisting an offender remained in police custody for questioning.
A £10,000 reward remained on offer for information leading to the arrest of Ryan McDonald, 20, who was freed by three masked men in Salford when he was on his way to court on Tuesday
Prisoners Escape Custody Van in Salford
Two men were on the run after being sprung from a prison van today, police said.
The van came under attack shortly after 9am on Regent Road, Salford, a main road into Manchester around half a mile from the city’s crown court and Strangeways prison.
Police said two men were freed from the vehicle and the response is “ongoing”, with a large number of officers deployed to the area.
Chief Superintendent Kevin Mulligan said: “To reassure those that live nearby there is a significant police presence in the area.
“At this stage we do not believe that there is any on-going threat to the community and we would appeal to anyone who has any information to contact the police as soon as possible.”
The brazen rush-hour raid took place just off the same stretch of road as a similar attack on a prison van.
Liverpool gangsters Tony Downes and Kirk Bradley escaped in the ambush in July 2011 as they were being taken from Strangeways jail to their trial al Liverpool Crown Court.
Helicopter Escape
Two prisoners climbed up a rope into a hovering Robinson R44 helicopter in a daring daylight escape from a Canadian jail. Both were later recaptured.
Quebec provincial police said today they arrested four people about 30 miles north of the Saint-Jerome jail from which the inmates escaped on Sunday. Two of them were inmate Benjamin Hudon-Barbeau, 36, and Danny Provencal, 33.
Hudon-Barbeau was arrested yesterday and later that night police located Provencal, establishing a security perimeter around a building where he had barricaded himself.
Sgt Benoit Richard of Quebec Provincial Police said no one heard the helicopter until it appeared over the prison wall and confirmed later that Provencal had surrendered peacefully.
Earlier yesterday police received a call from the staff at the Saint-Jerome jail, reporting the escape around 2.20pm local time.
The warden told police that Hudon-Barbeau and Provencal had grabbed a rope dropped from the helicopter to make their getaway.
Mark Leech editor of Converse the national newspaper for prisoners, and himself a qualified R44 helicopter pilot, said he was not surprised by the silent approach, it was a well-known feature of the R44.
“The R44 is a two-bladed four-seater helicopter, it balances excellent lift capacity with noise reduction technology and for the pilot is easy to control – if ever there was a helicopter designed for a prison escape, this is probably it.”
Provincial police tracked down the helicopter used in the escape to Mont-Tremblant, about 53 miles away from the jail but only the chopper’s pilot was still at the scene. He was taken to hospital and treated for shock, Sgt Richard said. He called the pilot “an important witness” in the case.
According to a police report, Hudon-Barbeau was arrested in November on two firearm related charges and associating with people who have a criminal record. The arrest came as part of an investigation of a double murder in Quebec.
A Montreal radio station, 98.5 FM, said it received a call yesterday from a man claiming to be Hudon-Barbeau, who said he was “ready to die” as he tried to evade police.
“The way they’re treating me in there, it’s unreal,” the man told the radio station. “They won’t let me be. They put me back in prison for nothing.”
Authorities did not immediately respond to the claims made in the radio station interview.
Yves Galarneau, the correctional services manager who oversees the Saint-Jerome jail, said he had never seen anything like the dramatic escape in more than 30 years in the job.
He said there were no security measures in place at the jail to prevent a helicopter from swooping down from above.
“As far as I know, it’s a first in Quebec,” he said at the scene. “It’s exceptional.”
Although the tactic may have been a first for Quebec, using a chopper to break out of jail has a long and colourful history, and not just in the movies.
A New York businessman, Joel David Kaplan, used a chopper to escape from a Mexican jail in 1971 and went on to write a book about it. Pascal Payet, a French prisoner, used a helicopter to escape on three occasions, only to be caught by authorities every time.
The jail at the centre of yesterday’s escapade in Quebec is a provincial detention centre with a maximum-security wing.
Saint-Jerome jail, about 37 miles north west of Montreal, experienced a mini-riot by about a dozen prisoners a little over a month ago. In that incident, police were called to secure the outside of the jail, which holds about 480 inmates, and jail staff used pepper spray to disperse the mob.
Murder suspect flown back to the UK
A murder suspect who escaped from a prison van more than a year ago was flown back to the UK today after being arrested in Northern Cyprus.
John Anslow, 32, was being transported to Stafford Crown Court when he escaped from the van near HMP Hewell Grange, in Tardebigge near Bromsgrove, on January 23 last year.
A Staffordshire Police spokeswoman said Anslow was arrested for immigration offences in the Alancak area of Northern Cyprus on Wednesday before being deported by the Turkish Cypriot authorities.
He was arrested upon arrival at Heathrow Airport earlier today before being transferred to a high-security prison.
Anslow is due to appear via video link at Stafford Crown Court on Monday for failing to appear at court.
Anslow, from Tipton, West Midlands, was one of five men charged with the murder of businessman Richard Deakin in Chasetown, Staffordshire, in July 2010.
Police said Mr Deakin’s family have been updated about the latest development.
Nine men have been arrested and charged by West Mercia Police in connection with Anslow’s escape in the past three weeks, the spokeswoman added.
Lifer On ROTL Absconds
A prisoner serving a life sentence for murder in Manchester is on the run after he disappeared while on ROTL – Release On Temporary Licence – or Day Release.
Brian Lynch, 44, has not been seen since 3pm on Thursday when he went missing in Preston city centre.
He was jailed in 1988 for the killing of 21-year-old Chi Yeung Yip in Clayton, Manchester.
Lynch was moved last December to serve the remainder of his sentence at HMP Kirkham, in Lancashire.
Detective Inspector Jon Clegg said: “We do not believe that Lynch is a risk to the public but we are nevertheless very keen to trace him and return him to prison to serve the remainder of his sentence.
“Although he could still be in Lancashire, there is a possibility he may travelled back to the Greater Manchester area and so we would ask the public to be vigilant and report any sightings to the police – any details the public may have could be crucial.”
Lynch is described as 5ft, stocky, with blue eyes, short, cropped ginger hair and an unshaven complexion. He was wearing black trousers, a black jacket and dirty grey suede and leather trainers.
Mark Leech editor of Converse the national newspaper for prisoners in England and Wales said it was important that this abscond is not allowed to damage the principle of day release.
“Testing life sentence prisoners in conditions of trust, such as on day release here, is a fundamental part of the long term sentence release process, as we have seen in this case it sometimes proves that a particular prisoner is not yet ready for release on life licence and its vital this abscond is not allowed to damage that testing process or the principle of it.”
Six Charged in Prison Van Escape
Six men have been charged with conspiracy to assist in the escape of a murder suspect who fled from a prison van in Worcestershire while being taken to a court hearing.
West Mercia Police said the men, aged 47, 41, 28, 25, 23, and 20, would appear at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court charged in connection with the escape of John Anslow.
All six men were arrested by officers investigating Anslow’s escape from a security van near HMP Hewell in Worcestershire in January 2012.
Anslow, 32, from Tipton, West Midlands, remains at large and is wanted over the 2010 murder of Richard Deakin in Chasetown, Staffordshire.
A seventh man arrested has been released on police bail pending further inquiries.
Staffordshire Police, which is leading the hunt to locate Anslow, has said officers are keeping an open mind about whether he remains in the UK or has travelled abroad.
A £10,000 reward remains on offer for anyone who can supply Staffordshire Police with information that leads to Anslow’s arrest and return to prison.
SEVEN ARRESTED IN PRISON VAN ESCAPE
Seven men have been arrested in connection with the escape of a prison inmate who was on remand charged with murder.
The men, whose ages have not been released, were arrested this morning on suspicion of conspiracy to assist in the escape of John Anslow, who is wanted over the 2010 murder of Richard Deakin in Chasetown, Staffordshire.
The 32-year-old, from Tipton, West Midlands, has been at large since a prison van transporting him to court was ambushed by masked offenders near HMP Hewell in Worcestershire in January last year.
A spokesman for West Mercia Police said: “Seven men were arrested this morning in connection with the prison escort van escape of John Anslow.
“All of the men have been taken to police stations in West Mercia.”
Two of the arrests were made in Birmingham, two in Dudley, and one in Redditch.
The two remaining suspects were already in custody at the time of their arrest, the police spokesman added.
Staffordshire Police, which is heading the hunt to locate Anslow, has said officers are keeping an open mind about whether he remains in the UK or has travelled abroad.
A £10,000 reward remains on offer for anyone who can supply Staffordshire Police with information that leads to Anslow’s arrest and return to prison.
PRISONER CONVICTED OF GUN ESCAPE
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A man was convicted today of holding two prison officers at gunpoint to help an inmate jailed for a violent assault escape custody.
Garry Cowan, 45, was found guilty of springing Andrew Farndon (above) with the aid of a replica handgun from outside West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds on January 25.
The getaway took place after Farndon was taken to the accident and emergency ward with a knife wound sustained at Highpoint jail in Stradishall, Suffolk.
Farndon was serving an indeterminate sentence for public protection after fracturing a victim’s skull in a hammer attack, and his escape sparked a nationwide manhunt.
Cowan, his former jailmate, had been released 15 days earlier after serving a nine-year sentence for robbery.
He denied possession of a replica firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, and assisting an offender to escape.
But a jury at Woolwich Crown Court in London took less than three hours to reach a unanimous guilty verdict on both counts.
Cowan, who has 41 previous convictions for 180 offences, shook his head as the panel of nine women and three men delivered their guilty verdicts.
During the trial, prison officers Kim Lockwood and Chris Matson told the jury they feared they were about to be killed when the gunman threatened to shoot them moments after arriving at the hospital.
Giving evidence, Miss Lockwood said the gunman told her she had 10 seconds to remove the handcuffs from the prisoner, while Farndon kept repeating: “I’m sorry miss, let me go.”
The pair fled by foot before escaping in a getaway car, the trial heard.
Cowan, originally from St Andrews in Scotland, was arrested three days later at the home of another former jailmate, Alan Hornall, in New Cumnock, East Ayrshire.
The jury heard from a number of witnesses who saw a man matching Cowan’s description hanging around the hospital on the day of the hold-up.
Mobile phone data placed Cowan outside West Suffolk Hospital that afternoon, the prosecution said, and the defendant’s DNA was found on a jumper sleeve used as a balaclava and on the inside of a case which allegedly contained the gun.
He was also picked out in an identification parade by Miss Lockwood.
Cowan denied being the accomplice and told the jury he was hitch-hiking through England at the time Farndon escaped.
He claimed Mr Hornall, who served time with him at Highpoint, might have been the gunman and suggested his former jailmate tried to frame him by planting some of the evidence.
During cross examination, prosecutor Gregory Perrins said Cowan was a “bare-faced liar”.
He told the jury that DNA from Farndon and Cowan was found on the seats of a FordEscort used as a getaway car and on the neck of a milk bottle found in the vehicle.
Mr Perrins said when police arrested the pair in Scotland, they found ammunition, instructions and a cleaning brush for the gun in the boot of the Escort, and a checklist Cowan had prepared.
Judge Nicholas Hilliard told the defendant he faces a “substantial” prison sentence.
Farndon, who has pleaded guilty to a charge of escape, is also facing court proceedings in Scotland for three alleged firearm offences.
The pair will be sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court on January 18.
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ESCAPEE IN COURT
A man from Preston who went on the run from a Lincolnshire jail for nearly two months has appeared in court charged with being unlawfully at large.
Ivan Leach, 47, absconded from North Sea Camp open prisonin Boston on October 9, sparking a police search across Scotland and England.
He was arrested on Sunday in Camden, north London and charged with being unlawfully at large, contrary to Section 49 of the Prison Act 1952, Scotland Yard said.
Leach, also known as Lee Cyrus, was remanded in custody when he appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court, a court official said.
He will next appear at Blackfriars Crown Court in London on a date yet to be confirmed, she added.
Leach was jailed in 2005 for robbing a 90-year-old woman in her home in the city.
He was given a life sentence with a minimum tariff of five years.
OPEN PRISON FUGITIVE HELD BY POLICE
A fugitive, whose absconsion from an open prison sparked a police search across Scotland and England, has been found in London.
Ivan Leach, 47, had been on the run from North Sea Camp open prison in Boston, Lincolnshire since October 9.
Police arrested him on suspicion of a number of offences this morning in the Camden area, Scotland Yard said.
Leach, also known as Lee Cyril, was wanted for questioning about a rape in Scotland committed while police hunted for him.
On October 15 a woman was woken and raped by an intruder in her home in Perth, and the following day a mattress was stolen from her home.
Leach, from Preston, was jailed in 2005 for robbing a 90-year-old woman in her home in the city.
He was given a life sentence with a minimum tariff of five years.
Leach is currently in custody in a north London police station.
Police had warned not to approach the fugitive under any circumstances.
