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Globe and Mail Saskatchewan's Public Safety Minister says it's too early to say whether an aging prison structure is to blame for the brazen escape of six inmates from the Regina Provincial Correctional Centre. Darryl Hickie, a former police officer and corrections worker, said a police investigation into the prison break continues, along with an internal review by his ministry. Five of the inmates remained at large Tuesday. The sixth, Kenneth Iron, was caught two hours after the Sunday night jail break in a farm field not far from the prison. Mr. Iron, who was awaiting trial on a charge of attempted murder, was brought before a Regina court Tuesday on a charge of escaping custody. Crown lawyer Chris White, who handled Mr. Iron's case, said he was told the inmates fled the prison through an air vent. Mr. Hickie said he had heard the same story, but cast doubt on its accuracy. “I find that hard to believe, but I'm not discounting anything. I'll wait for my investigators to provide some preliminary findings to me,” Mr. Hickie said. “I do want to know immediately if there is a security concern regarding infrastructure. “Inmates are pretty ingenious and they do have a lot of time on their hands, I understand that. We have to look at every possible scenario.” The RCMP said they have not launched any kind of air or ground search for the missing men, but are pursuing tips from the public that are arriving via Crime Stoppers and 911 calls. They are contacting family members and known associates of the missing men as well as monitoring the places they are known to visit. Investigators have also notified U.S. police agencies and the Canada Border Services Agency to be on the lookout. One of the escaped inmates is Daniel Richard Wolfe, 32, a founding member of the Indian Posse street gang, one of the largest and most violent gangs in Western Canada. Mr. Wolfe is awaiting trial on two counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder related to a shooting in Fort Qu'Appelle, Sask., last year. Winnipeg police said they have been in contact with Saskatchewan RCMP because Mr. Wolfe, whom they describe as a very dangerous person, has connections in the city and may be making his way east to Manitoba. The other missing men are Ryan Agecoutay, 25, Preston Clarence Buffalocalf, 22, Cody Dillon Keenatch, 19, and James Joseph Pewean, 25. All except Mr. Keenatch have been charged with violent offences including murder or attempted murder. The escapees were being kept in a section of the jail, built in the 1960s, that was supposed to have the higher security standards required to house remanded prisoners. They were not kept in the older wing of the prison that is scheduled to be put out of use later this year. The older wing, whose structure had been blamed for two prisoner escapes in the last decade, was on lockdown at the time of the latest escape in preparation for moving the inmates to a new section of the prison opened this month. It's not known whether all the inmates belonged to the same street gang, or whether the breakout was planned and executed with help from inside or outside the prison. “Having six of them escape, that's a lot,” Mr. Hickie said. “Staff will be very critical in this to provide us with some feedback into what happened that night.” As for criticism that police failed to notify the public for more than 14 hours about the prison break, Mr. Hickie said that in future the public will be told immediately if an escape takes place.  Add as favourites (269) |  Quote this article on your site | Views: 1129
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