Escaped prisoner slipped out of handcuffs and fled courthouse

A PRISONER who escaped from a Tipperary courthouse managed to slip out of his handcuffs before running out of the building, chased by gardaí.

Richard Freyne, a 28-year-old from Clonmel, remained at large last night after fleeing the town’s courthouse on Tuesday.

He escaped shortly after 10am and headed towards the town centre. Local gardaí said it would not have taken long for Freyne to find territory where he would be looked after by friends.

He is one of hundreds of prisoners who have been listed as being unlawfully at large in recent years. In the past few months, there have been a number of high-profile escapes.

The prisoner was escorted by gardaí from Limerick Prison to Clonmel District Court, where he had been refused bail. He was due in Clover Hill in Dublin for a High Court bail hearing on Wednesday. A co-accused who did not attempt to escape was given consent to bail.

Freyne had been remanded in prison charged in connection with the aggravated burglary of a house last month.

One senior Clonmel garda said: “I would not describe him as dangerous but he’s a fairly serious criminal who has been up on a number of serious charges over the years.”

An investigation has been launched into how he managed to escape. It appears he somehow managed to unlock and remove his handcuffs before fleeing.

One prison source said: “It’s a bit of a mystery how they manage to do it but they do. Some even use the cover of blankets or coats thrown over them when passing photographers coming to or from court to tamper with the cuffs.”

Gardaí HQ yesterday refused to release a picture of the escaped prisoner.

The escape adds weight to the argument for video links between prisons and courts. In the North, most bail hearings are conducted via video link.

A recent report recommended the introduction of links to make the court system more efficient. The Committee on Video Conferencing in the Courts recommended the introduction of a pilot programme in five courts and four prisons. Using video conferencing would eliminate the need to transport prisoners to and from the court, particularly for bail and pre-trial hearings.

This would lead to a reduction in inmate transportation costs which would, in turn, eliminate security risks and allow prisoners to be released more quickly after a hearing, the report said.

Facilities are expected to be ready by early next year in a number of courts, including Cork, Ennis, Castlebar and Clover Hill.

In January, convicted armed robber Stephen Walsh went on the run after escaping from prison officers during a visit to St James’s Hospital in Dublin. The 26-year-old from Ballymun is understood to be still at large.

In December, a violent armed robber Ian Stewart went on the run for six days after escaping from his escort during a visit to his sick mother at a hospice in south Dublin.

Nearly all escapes occur while a prisoner is outside a prison, either in transit, in court, hospital or on compassionate leave. Many of the hundreds listed as unlawfully at large fail to return after being given temporary release.