Two fugitives who made a spectacular escape from a Quebec jail are back in custody and expected to appear in court today, along with two alleged accomplices.
On Sunday, two inmates at the Saint-Jérôme detention centre climbed to freedom on a rope lowered from a helicopter hovering over the jail. Their freedom was short-lived.
Danny Provençal, 33, and Benjamin Hudon-Barbeau, 36, who has reported ties to the Hells Angels, are back in custody after an operation that lasted into Monday’s early morning hours.
Quebec provincial police had arrested two alleged accomplices and one of the escapers by Sunday evening.
Police later tracked down and surrounded Provençal, who finally turned himself in just after midnight.
The helicopter pilot, who authorities had tracked down about an hour after the escape, was taken to hospital and treated for shock. Authorities said he is an important witness.
Yves Galarneau, the correctional services manager who oversees the Saint-Jérôme jail, said he'd never seen anything like Sunday's dramatic escape in more than three decades on the job.
Galarneau said there are 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 told reporters at the scene. "It's exceptional."
On Sunday, two inmates at the Saint-Jérôme detention centre climbed to freedom on a rope lowered from a helicopter hovering over the jail. Their freedom was short-lived.
Danny Provençal, 33, and Benjamin Hudon-Barbeau, 36, who has reported ties to the Hells Angels, are back in custody after an operation that lasted into Monday’s early morning hours.
Quebec provincial police had arrested two alleged accomplices and one of the escapers by Sunday evening.
Police later tracked down and surrounded Provençal, who finally turned himself in just after midnight.
The helicopter pilot, who authorities had tracked down about an hour after the escape, was taken to hospital and treated for shock. Authorities said he is an important witness.
Yves Galarneau, the correctional services manager who oversees the Saint-Jérôme jail, said he'd never seen anything like Sunday's dramatic escape in more than three decades on the job.
Galarneau said there are 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 told reporters at the scene. "It's exceptional."
Overcrowding at Saint-Jérôme jail
The head of the union representing Quebec’s prison guards (SAPSCQ) responded to Sunday’s dramatic jailbreak by drawing attention to what he said is a serious problem of overcrowding.
Stéphane Lemaire, president of SAPSCQ, said it’s difficult enough for guards to deal with day-to-day problems, let alone an escape by helicopter.
He said inmates are crowded into gyms and treated like numbers, sometimes even kept in wings along with members of rival gangs.
The facility at the centre of Sunday's escapade in Quebec is a provincial detention centre with a maximum-security wing.
The Saint-Jérôme jail, located some 60 kilometres northwest of Montreal, experienced a mini-riot by about a dozen prisoners a little over a month ago.
In that incident, police had been asked to secure the outside of the jail, which holds about 480 inmates, and facility staff used pepper spray to disperse the mob.
The head of the union representing Quebec’s prison guards (SAPSCQ) responded to Sunday’s dramatic jailbreak by drawing attention to what he said is a serious problem of overcrowding.
Stéphane Lemaire, president of SAPSCQ, said it’s difficult enough for guards to deal with day-to-day problems, let alone an escape by helicopter.
He said inmates are crowded into gyms and treated like numbers, sometimes even kept in wings along with members of rival gangs.
The facility at the centre of Sunday's escapade in Quebec is a provincial detention centre with a maximum-security wing.
The Saint-Jérôme jail, located some 60 kilometres northwest of Montreal, experienced a mini-riot by about a dozen prisoners a little over a month ago.
In that incident, police had been asked to secure the outside of the jail, which holds about 480 inmates, and facility staff used pepper spray to disperse the mob.
Source : CBC
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