No, it's not quite over yet.
The artful dodger
Published 2 March 1999
The Advertiser
A PRISONER was on the run last night after escaping from guards as he was led into the Royal
Adelaide Hospital to visit his critically ill father.
Handcuffed and wearing an Adelaide Remand Centre uniform, Anthony John Smith, 19, broke away
from two Correctional Services officers as they escorted him towards a hospital entrance just after 2pm.
The guards chased him along North Terrace and Frome Rd before losing him in Botanic Park. They were not carrying radios or mobile phones so one had to use a public phone to alert police. A search of the area by police patrols, detectives and a police dog failed to find any trace of the escapee.
Two hours later a man fitting Smith's description and possibly wearing handcuffs caught a taxi from the city to Devon Park, the suburb where Smith lived.
He was being held at the Adelaide Remand Centre after being charged with the armed robbery of the
Buckingham Arms Hotel on Sunday, February 7. A Correctional Services spokesman said Smith had been given special permission to visit his father in hospital for "compassionate reasons".
He was being accompanied by an Aboriginal liaison officer and the usual two prison officers.
"We will naturally be looking into all aspects (of the escape) to see if all procedures were followed," the spokesman said.
Late yesterday, Smith was being sought by detectives from the Adelaide Investigations Section and
Operation Counteract, which targets armed robbers. Detective Chief Inspector Peter Campbell, officer-in-charge of Adelaide Investigations, said anyone seeing the escapee should quickly contact police.
"However, he should not be approached by any members of the public," he said.
About 4.45pm yesterday detectives searched a house in Plymouth Ave, Devon Park, after a report from a taxi company that a man fitting Smith's description had travelled there from the city about 4pm. The passenger was wearing shorts and a singlet.
"We called the police because the driver thought the man was wearing handcuffs he had his hands
under a jumper and he kept them together the whole time," said a spokesman from the cab company.
"He did pay. He had some cash in his pocket."
Smith is described as about 183cm tall, of athletic build with short, dark hair and with noticeable acne scars on his face.
Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
An explanation of The Joy Division Litmus Test
Although it may now be lost in the mysts of thyme, the poll below is still relevant to this blog. In the winter of 2008, Mele and I went to live in Queensland. In order to survive, I bluffed my way into a job at a Coffee Club.
It was quite a reasonable place to work: the hours were regular, the staff were quite nice, it wasn't particularly taxing on my brain.
There were a few downsides: In the six weeks or so that I worked there, there was about a 90% staff turnover (contributed to by my leaving). This wasn't seen as a result of the low pay, the laughability of staff prices or the practice of not distributing tips to staff, rather it was blamed on the lack of work ethic among Bribie Island's youth.
However, one of the stranger aspects of the cultural isolation that touched our lives during our time "up there" was the fact that nobody at my work had heard of the band Joy Division.
The full explanation is available here.
But please, interact a little further and vote in my ongoing poll. The results are slowly mounting up, proving one thing: people read this blog are more well-informed about Joy Division than anyone who works at the Coffee Club on Bribie Island.
It was quite a reasonable place to work: the hours were regular, the staff were quite nice, it wasn't particularly taxing on my brain.
There were a few downsides: In the six weeks or so that I worked there, there was about a 90% staff turnover (contributed to by my leaving). This wasn't seen as a result of the low pay, the laughability of staff prices or the practice of not distributing tips to staff, rather it was blamed on the lack of work ethic among Bribie Island's youth.
However, one of the stranger aspects of the cultural isolation that touched our lives during our time "up there" was the fact that nobody at my work had heard of the band Joy Division.
The full explanation is available here.
But please, interact a little further and vote in my ongoing poll. The results are slowly mounting up, proving one thing: people read this blog are more well-informed about Joy Division than anyone who works at the Coffee Club on Bribie Island.
Where is he NOW?
ReplyDeleteThis is quite a saga you've got going here. And like Kath, I want to know, where is he now? Could I be in danger of being robbed while at my checkout?
ReplyDeleteLadies ladies ladies.
ReplyDeleteStay tuned.
Everyone else, if you know where he is ... please keep it to yourselves. I'm working on something here ...