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Written by THE CANADIAN PRESS
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Thursday, 07 August 2008 |
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PORT COQUITLAM, B.C. - An inmate is on the run and another is facing new charges after a bizarre escape from a British Columbia jail that saw the two men switch places.
The RCMP have issued a Canada-wide warrant for Dean Sykes, 39, who was in custody at the North Fraser Pretrial Centre in Port Coquitlam, B.C.
Police and corrections officials said Sykes, whose violent criminal record includes assaulting a police officer and unlawful confinement, appeared in court Tuesday posing as a different inmate.
Believing he was someone else, a judge handed Sykes an intermittent sentence and ordered him released.
The jig was up when the second inmate, who was still in the jail, asked to be released for his intermittent sentence on Wednesday, said Lisa Lapointe of the B.C. Corrections Branch.
"He brought himself forward the next day ostensibly to be released, because he was actually the one who received the intermittent sentence," said Lapointe.
"Well, of course, as soon as that came forward, the correctional officers started looking into it and said, 'This doesn't add up."'
Another inmate at the jail, Timothy Broadbent, 42, was arrested Wednesday and charged with assisting in the escape of a prisoner.
Lapointe said corrections officials are investigating exactly what happened to prevent a similar incident in the future, but she said staff generally rely on visual identification and the two men look very similar.
"These inmates did apparently resemble each other quite closely, and there's a very high turnover in the remand centres."
She said this is the first time something like this has happened, noting that the Corrections Branch processes 24,000 releases each year.
It's not, however, the first time an inmate has slipped out of the facility. Omid Tahvili, 37, walked away from the same jail in November 2007, allegedly with the help of a guard. He had been awaiting sentencing on convictions for kidnapping and sexual assault and has not been caught.
Meanwhile, the RCMP are advising anyone who encounters Sykes to immediately call police.
"If you do see him, do not approach, alert or attempt to apprehend Mr. Sykes," said Cpl. Tony Farahbakhchian. "He has a lengthy criminal record. Haven't said that, he's not someone who's going to target people on the street."
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 07 August 2008 )
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