Chopper-assisted escapes have colourful history
While the tactic may have been a first for Quebec, using a chopper to break out of jail has a long and colourful history, and not just in the movies.
A New York businessman, Joel David Kaplan, used a chopper to escape from a Mexican jail in 1971, and went on to write a book about it. Pascal Payet, a French prisoner, used a helicopter to escape on three occasions, only to be caught by authorities every time.
The facility at the centre of Sunday's escapade in Quebec is a provincial detention centre with a maximum-security wing.
The Saint-Jérôme jail, located some 60 kilometres northwest of Montreal, experienced a mini-riot by about a dozen prisoners a little over a month ago.
In that incident, police had been asked to secure the outside of the jail, which holds about 480 inmates, and facility staff used pepper spray to disperse the mob.
Escape
When helicopter pilot Sébastien Foray picked up his two passengers in Mont-Tremblant, Que., on Sunday afternoon, it was supposed to be a routine one-hour sightseeing flight.
The men in their twenties said they wanted to fly over Saint-Jérôme, about 20 minutes south, a request that seemed normal enough for a helicopter company accustomed to people asking to fly over their homes or those of friends.
But as the four-seat Robinson R44 helicopter approached St-Jérôme at around 2:15 p.m., one of the passengers pulled a pistol and pointed it at Mr. Foray’s head.
“They told him to fly towards the prison and to land on the rooftop of the prison,” Yves Le Roux, the president of Passport-Hélico and Mr. Foray’s employer, said in an interview Monday. As directed, the pilot landed on the roof of the St-Jérôme provincial detention centre, by the wing holding the most dangerous prisoners.
The men in the helicopter opened the door and threw down mountaineering ropes that they had tied inside the helicopter. “Two inmates grabbed onto the ropes and they ordered the pilot to take off again,” said Mr. Le Roux, who spoke to his pilot Sunday after his ordeal ended.
Arrested
A dramatic daylight jailbreak involving two Quebec inmates climbing a rope into a hovering helicopter swiftly escalated into a large police operation on Sunday which saw both men tracked down hours after they fled.
Just before 8:30 p.m. ET, police confirmed they had arrested Benjamin Hudon-Barbeau and two other suspects.
Just hours later, police said they had located the second escapee, Danny Provencal. Provencal later surrendered peacefully to police, Radio-Canada reporter Pascal Robidas reported early Monday.
Much of the action took place in Chertsey, Que., located about 50 kilometres north of the jail in Saint-Jérôme from where the inmates made their brazen escape.
"We have a lot of officers working on the site," said provincial police spokesman Benoit Richard.
Police wouldn't give any details about how the arrests were made or about the charges facing those who were arrested.
"They are all being transported to the nearest police station to be questioned by the investigators," Richard said of those in custody.
"They will be due in court [Monday] morning."
Officers had blocked off the main road in Chertsey, not far from the village of St-Marguerite, and were pulling over cars Sunday night.
While the tactic may have been a first for Quebec, using a chopper to break out of jail has a long and colourful history, and not just in the movies.
A New York businessman, Joel David Kaplan, used a chopper to escape from a Mexican jail in 1971, and went on to write a book about it. Pascal Payet, a French prisoner, used a helicopter to escape on three occasions, only to be caught by authorities every time.
The facility at the centre of Sunday's escapade in Quebec is a provincial detention centre with a maximum-security wing.
The Saint-Jérôme jail, located some 60 kilometres northwest of Montreal, experienced a mini-riot by about a dozen prisoners a little over a month ago.
In that incident, police had been asked to secure the outside of the jail, which holds about 480 inmates, and facility staff used pepper spray to disperse the mob.
Escape
When helicopter pilot Sébastien Foray picked up his two passengers in Mont-Tremblant, Que., on Sunday afternoon, it was supposed to be a routine one-hour sightseeing flight.
The men in their twenties said they wanted to fly over Saint-Jérôme, about 20 minutes south, a request that seemed normal enough for a helicopter company accustomed to people asking to fly over their homes or those of friends.
But as the four-seat Robinson R44 helicopter approached St-Jérôme at around 2:15 p.m., one of the passengers pulled a pistol and pointed it at Mr. Foray’s head.
“They told him to fly towards the prison and to land on the rooftop of the prison,” Yves Le Roux, the president of Passport-Hélico and Mr. Foray’s employer, said in an interview Monday. As directed, the pilot landed on the roof of the St-Jérôme provincial detention centre, by the wing holding the most dangerous prisoners.
The men in the helicopter opened the door and threw down mountaineering ropes that they had tied inside the helicopter. “Two inmates grabbed onto the ropes and they ordered the pilot to take off again,” said Mr. Le Roux, who spoke to his pilot Sunday after his ordeal ended.
Arrested
A dramatic daylight jailbreak involving two Quebec inmates climbing a rope into a hovering helicopter swiftly escalated into a large police operation on Sunday which saw both men tracked down hours after they fled.
Just before 8:30 p.m. ET, police confirmed they had arrested Benjamin Hudon-Barbeau and two other suspects.
Just hours later, police said they had located the second escapee, Danny Provencal. Provencal later surrendered peacefully to police, Radio-Canada reporter Pascal Robidas reported early Monday.
Much of the action took place in Chertsey, Que., located about 50 kilometres north of the jail in Saint-Jérôme from where the inmates made their brazen escape.
"We have a lot of officers working on the site," said provincial police spokesman Benoit Richard.
Police wouldn't give any details about how the arrests were made or about the charges facing those who were arrested.
"They are all being transported to the nearest police station to be questioned by the investigators," Richard said of those in custody.
"They will be due in court [Monday] morning."
Officers had blocked off the main road in Chertsey, not far from the village of St-Marguerite, and were pulling over cars Sunday night.
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