|
|
| Hunt Expanded for Killer Who Fooled Jail Officers |
| By New York Times |
| Published: 09/05/2001 |
|
Federal and New Jersey law enforcement officials expanded their search yesterday for a convicted murderer who escaped from a county jail five days ago by convincing officers that he was an injured visitor and getting an ambulance ride to freedom. While state and local police officers continued the search for the convict, Terence M. Brewer, 38, the Mercer County prosecutor, Daniel G. Giaquinto, was trying to find out how Mr. Brewer managed to escape from the Mercer County Corrections Center in Hopewell Township, officials said. Mr. Brewer apparently fooled officers who found him lying outside a jail entrance Thursday morning and persuaded them to call an ambulance for him. Prosecutors and detectives were also trying to learn why other officers apparently did not realize Mr. Brewer was missing from his cell until almost 14 hours later. 'We're looking at all elements of the escape,' said Angelo Onofri, an administrative assistant prosecutor on Mr. Giaquinto's staff. 'We are interviewing everyone with a connection.' Mr. Onofri said that the authorities consider Mr. Brewer armed and dangerous and that detectives believed Mr. Brewer might be walking with a limp and using a cane or a walking stick because of the leg injury he suffered jumping from the jailhouse roof. A law enforcement official who is involved in the investigation said that Mr. Brewer fled during a morning recreation period on Thursday. He managed to scale a wall about 30 feet high near the recreation yard and climb onto a roof. The official declined to say how Mr. Brewer got to the top of the wall, which, he said, was not covered with the coils of razor wire common to jail and prison walls. At some point, Mr. Brewer shed a jail-issued orange jumpsuit he wore over a gray sweat suit. From the roof, Mr. Brewer apparently jumped to the pavement near a jail entrance. According to the official, officers found him there, lying face down. He told them he was a visitor to the jail and had fallen outside the jail and aggravated an old football back injury. Eventually, according to The Times of Trenton, at least seven jail officers and possibly a deputy warden were standing near Mr. Brewer when a Hopewell Township ambulance arrived about 9:30. The official said it was not clear who summoned the ambulance. When ambulance attendants rolled Mr. Brewer onto his back to apply a neck collar, he covered his face with his arm as if in pain, the newspaper reported. If any of the officers saw Mr. Brewer's face, none apparently recognized him, the official said. At the time of the escape, the jail housed about 900 inmates. |
advertise
|
privacy policy
|
add URL
|
about us
|
terms/disclaimer
|
contact us
|
join our team
|
help
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think