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Prison guard to be arraigned on charges of helping in New York escape plot Arraignment delayed for New York prison guard on charges of helping in escape plot
(about 4 hours later)
A second prison worker was due to appear in court on Thursday afternoon, accused in connection with the escape of two convicted murderers almost three weeks ago in the remote northern part of New York state, as the police continue to comb the forested region and warn that the fugitives could be armed with stolen weapons.
Related: New York prison break - how two murderers escapedRelated: New York prison break - how two murderers escaped
A prison worker who was due to appear in court on Thursday afternoon, accused in connection with the escape of two convicted murderers almost three weeks ago in a remote northern part of New York state, will now be arraigned on Monday.
The news came as more details emerged about how the inmates fled from a hunting cabin where they were hiding.
The uniformed prison guard, Gene Palmer, 57, was arrested on Wednesday evening and briefly appeared in local court close to the prison in Dannemora, New York, where the audacious prison breakout was staged on 6 June.The uniformed prison guard, Gene Palmer, 57, was arrested on Wednesday evening and briefly appeared in local court close to the prison in Dannemora, New York, where the audacious prison breakout was staged on 6 June.
The authorities believe Palmer was given a block of frozen meat that contained a hacksaw blade to take to the two inmates who were plotting their escape. They also believe he gave the inmates access to a narrow steel “catwalk” behind the cells to do some repairs – and they eventually broke out that way. Authorities believe Palmer was given a block of frozen meat by civilian colleague Joyce Mitchell, who is already in custody, which contained a hacksaw blade to take to the two inmates. They also believe he gave the inmates access to a narrow steel “catwalk” behind the cells to do some repairs – they eventually broke out that way.
Palmer, who could be facing up to seven years in jail on charges related to smuggling contraband and tampering with evidence, was released on bail. The inmates, Richard Matt, 49, and David Sweat, 35, have been on the run for 20 days since escaping from Clinton correctional facility.
He has pleaded not guilty and his lawyer Andrew Brockway insists Palmer had no idea there was anything hidden in the minced beef or that the two inmates had a plan to escape. Law enforcement were hopeful on Thursday that the two were still within a 75 sq mile perimeter formed by personnel and vehicles in the region around a cabin in a remote area called Owls Head, where DNA from both was found at the weekend.
“I can 100% confirm that he did not know they were planning on breaking out of the prison,” Brockway said. “The brush and woods are so thick and it’s such a huge area to cover, but they still believe they are within that perimeter,” a law enforcement source familiar with the manhunt told the Guardian.
The Clinton County district attorney, Andrew Wylie, has confirmed that Palmer passed a lie detector test to that effect. The police admit that they have not had a confirmed sighting of the men and they could be anywhere. But they are encouraged by the credible report that one of the inmates was seen fleeing the cabin in Owls Head last Saturday, about 30 miles west of the prison.
Palmer was given the meat to pass to the prisoners by a civilian prison worker, Joyce Mitchell, 51, who was arrested on 12 June and is in custody facing charges related to smuggling tools to the inmates and being involved in their escape plan. The cabin is part of a rural hunting camp that is co-owned by five local men, four of whom, ironically, are prison guards in a region scattered with state-controlled correctional facilities.
Mitchell was supposed to drive a getaway vehicle once the inmates emerged through a manhole cover in a public street, having drilled holes in their cell walls and heating pipes, the authorities have said. One of them, John Stockwell, 47, a guard from the Dannemora area who does not work at Clinton, turned up at the cabin last Saturday and disturbed at least one of the fugitives, a law enforcement source told the Guardian. The cabin is so remote it can only be reached by hiking or by all-terrain vehicle (ATV).
She got cold feet the day before the escape but did not alert the prison to what was about to happen, police say. “The owner drove his ATV in there and as he got off and walked up to the cabin he could see a peanut butter jar and other food stuff on the table inside,” said the source.
Richard Matt, 49,and David Sweat, 35, escaped from the maximum-security wing of the Clinton correctional facility in Dannemora in the early hours of Saturday 6 June and have been on the run ever since. He is understood to have unlocked the door and, carrying a firearm, shouted to ask if there was anyone in the cabin, calling “If you are here, get out”, the Guardian was told.
Federal, state and local police, forest rangers and prison officers are conducting a huge manhunt and are currently attempting to tighten a dragnet on an area of 75 sq miles of remote wilderness around the small town of Malone. The owner reportedly heard a noise to the rear of the cabin and when he ran around to the back, he saw a man run off into the woods.
This is the nearest settlement to the most recent credible lead in the investigation. The manhunt has focused so far on a number of hotspots where there were possible sightings. Stockwell, who had to drive “some distance” before he was able to get any cellphone coverage in the deeply rural region, then called the police, the source said.
“We still believe they are in the area where they have the perimeter established, near Malone,” a police source with knowledge of the manhunt told the Guardian on Thursday. It has not been possible to establish whether the fleeing man was Matt or Sweat, or neither, but DNA from both men was found on some of the objects that they appear to have left behind in the cabin.
Samples of DNA from both inmates were found in a remote hunting cabin 10 miles from the town, from where they are believed to have fled last Saturday after the owner stumbled upon them. These included at least one sock with blood on it, as the Guardian revealed three days ago. It also included a pair of boots that were wet through, uncooked noodles and some prison-issue underwear.
The unnamed owner saw a man, believed to be one of the fugitives, run into the woods and then discovered clothing and food scraps in the cabin that tests later showed had been used by the men. “A pair of dry shoes had been taken from the cabin,” the source said. The police also suspect the fugitives may have stolen weapons from this or another cabin. The owners of the Owls Head cabin have been unable to confirm if there were weapons there to steal.
Despite the strong clue and the credible sighting on Saturday, exhaustive foot, air and dog patrols have failed to capture the men. Stockwell was not immediately available for comment.
The region centres on the Adirondack mountains and a vast wilderness of dense woods, ravines, lakes, swamps and water courses soaked by frequent thunderstorms in the past 20 days. The likely sighting had an element of unlucky timing. At the time law enforcement’s attention was being called to Owls Head, personnel were racing to a location 350 miles to the south-west, close to the Pennsylvania border near the small town of Friendship, after a sighting of two men walking near railway tracks.
Matt and Sweat took a guitar case full of food out of the prison with them – they had access to musical instruments in the prison. But it is not known what provisions they may still have with them or what they have managed to steal from unoccupied hunting and holiday cabins, which are scattered in the woods by the thousands and often are accessible only by off-road vehicle. That split resources but the trail near Friendship went cold and with the discovery of the inmates’ DNA at Owls Head, that area became the hottest spot in the manhunt so far on Monday.
The police on Wednesday warned the public that they had “every reason to believe” that the men could be armed with hunting weapons stolen from cabins. The 1,000 officers involved in the dragnet are up against hundreds of thousands of acres of rugged terrain and frequent thunderstorms soaking the land and swelling streams.
“We hope they will make a mistake or come out into the open and be spotted, without anyone getting hurt. But these woods are so dense it’s hard, normally, to find someone who’s lost even when they want to be found. It is very rugged terrain. They could die out there and we may never even know,” the police source told the Guardian. There have been no credible sightings of the fugitives since Saturday.
Sweat, 35, was serving a life sentence without parole for the killing of a sheriff’s deputy. Matt, who turned 49 on Thursday, was doing 25 years to life for the kidnapping, torture and hacksaw dismemberment of his former boss. Palmer was due to make his second appearance in court on Thursday afternoon. He faces up to seven years in jail on charges relating to smuggling contraband and tampering with evidence, but was released on bail on Wednesday. He has pleaded not guilty.
Mitchell, a prison tailor shop instructor, has pleaded not guilty and remains in custody. His lawyer, Andrew Brockway, said: “I can 100% confirm that he did not know they were planning on breaking out of the prison.”
Wylie said Mitchell told investigators she smuggled hacksaw blades, a screwdriver and other tools into the prison by placing them in the frozen hamburger meat. He said she then placed the meat in a refrigerator in the tailor shop and Palmer took the meat to Sweat and Matt, who were housed in a section where inmates are allowed to cook their own meals. District attorney Andrew Wylie has confirmed that Palmer passed a lie detector test to that effect.
Brockway said Palmer continues to cooperate with investigators who are trying to track down the fugitives. Palmer was given the meat to pass to the prisoners by Mitchell, 51, who was arrested on 12 June and is in custody facing charges relating to smuggling tools to the inmates and being involved in their escape plan.
“He understands this is a public emergency, and any information that he has he will give to authorities to help capture Mr Sweat and Mr Matt,” Brockway said. Mitchell was supposed to drive a getaway vehicle once the inmates emerged through a manhole cover in a public street having drilled holes in their cell walls and heating pipes, the authorities have said. She got cold feet the day before the escape, but did not alert the prison to what was about to happen, police say.
Palmer had been placed on leave on Tuesday. At the time, his attorney told television station WPTZ he was completely forthcoming during several hours of questioning on Saturday. Matt and Sweat escaped in the early hours of 6 June. They took a guitar case full of food with them – they had access to musical instruments in the prison. It is not known what provisions they may still have with them or what they have managed to steal from unoccupied hunting and holiday cabins, which are scattered in the woods by the thousands.
Police on Wednesday warned the public that they had “every reason to believe” that the men could be armed with hunting weapons stolen from cabins.
“We hope they will make a mistake or come out into the open and be spotted, without anyone getting hurt,” the police source told the Guardian. “But these woods are so dense it’s hard, normally, to find someone who’s lost even when they want to be found. They could die out there and we may never even know.”