Courthouse escapee caught napping in mall food court
Prisoner made his getaway during bail-court proceedings by jumping 8-foot glass wall
A man who escaped custody at a Toronto courthouse by climbing out of the prisoner’s box in the middle of a hearing was found at a mall three days later — asleep in the food court.
The man was recaptured without incident on Friday at Albion Mall, near Albion Rd. and Kipling Ave., police said. His escape from a North York courthouse on Finch Ave. W. on Tuesday was something Const. David Hopkinson called a first.
“Imagine a bench or two rows of benches, surrounded by a small wall, and then on top of that wall to about eight feet is a glass wall, or a glass partition,” Hopkinson said. “That’s what he was in. Apparently, he jumped over that and ran out of the courtroom.”
The man made his bid for freedom in the middle of bail court proceedings, surrounded by a “court officer, judge, court clerks — tons of people.
“He took them by surprise,” Hopkinson added. “It’s a good jump.”
Soon after the escape, the man is alleged to have been involved in a robbery, which made police more concerned about bringing him in as quickly as possible, the officer added.
“The unit commander for that divi- sion put together a team dedicated to his recapture because normally when people flee the police, when they escape custody, they hide from us,” he said.
Three days after his escape, a civilian spotted a man sleeping in a food court and contacted police.
A suspect was later taken into custody without incident.
Jumar Lennon, 24, is charged with seven counts of failing to comply with probation, five counts of failing to comply with a recognizance, one count of robbery and one count of escaping lawful custody. With files from Fakiha Baig