Escape bid ends with all four convicts rearrested

THE daring escape bid by a group of prisoners in transit through Port Elizabeth’s northern areas was brought to an end just after midnight on Wednesday, by which time police had rearrested all four of the convicts in different locations.

Justin Bramwell, Ettienne Andrews, Marco Tiervlei and William Kleinbooi escaped through the roof of a police truck at about 2.20pm on Wednesday after they had appeared in the Gelvandale Magistrate’s Court for sentencing.

The escape, which took place in the Gelvandale area, sparked an extensive manhunt by a police task team established to address the breakout, which involved vehicles, foot patrols and a police helicopter.

Three of the four men, all of whom were in transit to St Albans Prison when they escaped, had been convicted of robberies which had taken place in the Mount Road and Bethelsdorp areas. One escapee had been convicted for possession of drugs.

Port Elizabeth police spokesman Warrant Officer Alwin Labans said Andrews had been arrested at 8.40pm in Harrington Street in Salt Lake after an informant had tipped off police about his whereabouts.

Andrews was apprehended while attempting to leave the area with clothing and toiletries.

He had first been arrested for robbery and domestic violence, Labans said.

He said Tiervlei and his brother, Bramwell, had been arrested shortly before midnight in the Greenfields area.

Tiervlei was cornered by the police in bushes where he had been hiding in the backyard of a home in Greenfields, while Bramwell was caught inside another house in Greenfields 15 minutes later.

The brothers were originally arrested for armed robbery and the illegal possession of a firearm.

Labans said Kleinbooi, who was originally arrested for possession of drugs, had contacted his sister after escaping and she had assisted him to get onto a taxi going to the city centre.

With the assistance of Kleinbooi’s sister, the escapee was eventually arrested in Hope Street in Central, shortly after midnight, ending the manhunt.

“All the escapees were rearrested within 12 hours of the escape,” Labans said.

WE are happy to report that the four criminals who escaped from police custody while on their way to their jail terms at St Albans are now safely behind bars once more.

In fact, the ink was barely dry on The Herald’s front page yesterday when the news came through that all four had been re-arrested.

How wonderful to have such a speedy good news follow-up and we can only applaud the South African Police Service for its swift action.

The convicted robbers who escaped had been on the run for only a few hours by the time the task team established to hunt them down had successfully apprehended all four.

However, the manner of their escape strikes a jarring note, as their modus operandi of breaking out through the rusted roof of a justice department vehicle sounded like something from a crime caper movie.

It shows how poorly resourced that department seems to be.

Fortunately, the skills of those in the task team tracking them down were not as rusty.

Police deployed a helicopter and launched a manhunt immediately afterwards, and their freedom was short-lived.

This meant that the city was able to wake up yesterday morning to hear that all four had been caught and were back in custody.

For this we can thank the commitment and dedication of our men and women in blue.

We share the views of the Acting Provincial Commissioner, Major-General A P Swart, who praised his crew for their “brilliant performance”.

These police officers worked tirelessly to ensure that Nelson Mandela Bay residents, particularly those living in Gelvandale where the men had made their break, need no longer fear an unexpected visit from the criminals.

The victims of their crimes also must surely be relieved to know their efforts in court and the subsequent conviction of the crooks has not been in vain.