Cops nick killer after 18 months on the run
Cops swoop on prison break fugitive in armed raid
ARMED police pin down a killer who spent 18 months on the run from prison.
Plain-clothes officers, some wearing face masks and others dressed in hi-vis jackets swooped on Shaun Walmsley’s car and phone footage shows the 29-yearold being held on the ground.
A white car appears to be boxed in by two unmarked police vehicles as at least a dozen officers pounce on the murderer.
Officers, some armed with side arms and automatic rifles, can be heard shouting “get your hands where I can see them”, while another clambers on to the roof of the white car.
His long hair and beard bear little resemblance to his cropped cut and clean-shaven look in his mugshot.
He fled after two men threatened guards at gun and knifepoint during a visit to Aintree Hospital from HMP Liverpool in February 2017.
Walmsley was caught in the Harehills area of Leeds on Tuesday afternoon, 75 miles from Liverpool. Yesterday he appeared in the city’s magistrates court via video link before being remanded to a prison outside Merseyside.
Detective Chief Superintendent Natalie Perischine said the operation by Merseyside Police and West Yorkshire Police sent the message: “You can run but you can’t hide.”
She said police officers had been “relentless”, adding: “He has gone
Escaped prisoner Shaun Walmsley is back in custody POLICE STATEMENT ON RECAPTURE OF MURDERER
to incredible lengths to change his appearance. He has obviously been looking over his shoulder.
“I should imagine it has not been a happy 18 months for him.”
The gangster was sentenced to life with a minimum of 30 years in June 2015 for his role in the 2014 murder of Anthony Duffy, 33, who was “repeatedly stabbed”.
It is believed Walmsley fooled prison staff into thinking he was ill by losing up to four stone in weight. Police put up a reward of £20,000 of his own money.
Walmsley, of Walton, Liverpool, is set to appear at the city’s crown court on September 19.