Second escaped prisoner captured
N.Y. convict shot in pursuit
MALONE, N.Y. — A threeweek manhunt that began with a brazen prison break involving stolen power tools and hacksaw blades hidden in frozen hamburger meat ended Sunday when a single state police sergeant spotted a suspicious man walking down a rural road near the Canadian border.
David Sweat’s capture came two days after his fellow escapee, Richard Matt, was killed in a confrontation with law enforcement while holding a shotgun. Sweat was unarmed when he was shot twice by Sgt. Jay Cook as the fugitive ran for a tree line.
“If you were writing a movie plot, they would say that this was overdone,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
Cook, a 21-year veteran, was alone and on routine patrol when he stumbled upon Sweat in the northern New York town of Constable, about 30 miles northwest of the prison, and recognized him. He gave chase when Sweat fled and decided to fire upon fearing he would lose him in the trees, state police said.
“I can only assume he was going for the border,” Superintendent Joseph D’Amico said.
The arrest ended an ordeal that sent 1,300 local, state and federal law enforcement officers into the thickly forested northern reaches of New York and forced residents to tolerate nerve-wracking armed checkpoints and property searches.
“The nightmare is finally over,” Cuomo declared at a news conference.
Sweat was struck in the torso and taken to a hospital in stable condition, authorities said. He had not
been formally interviewed by investigators as of late Sunday, but any information he provides could be critical to the investigation, Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie said.
Sweat will be charged with escape, burglary and other charges, Wylie said. He and Matt are suspected of breaking into some of the region’s many cabins during their time on the lam. Wylie said prosecutors would wait for Sweat to recover before charging him.
The men had been on the loose since June 6, when they cut their way out of a maximum-security prison about 30 miles away using power tools. Two prison workers have been charged with helping them.
D’Amico said the men may have used black pepper to throw off the scent of dogs that were tracking them; he said Sweat’s DNA was recovered from pepper shakers found at one camp where the fugitives may have spent time.
“We did have difficulty tracking so, you know, it was fairly effective in that respect,” D’Amico said.
Cuomo said many questions remained unanswered in the case, including whether the inmates had other accomplices.
“We have already started a full investigation,” he said. “But today ends with good news. These were dangerous, dangerous men.”
Sweat was serving a sentence of life without parole in the killing of a sheriff’s deputy in Broome County in 2002. Matt was serving 25 years to life for the killing and dismembering of his former boss.
Residents expressed relief Sunday that the killers were no longer on the loose.
“It’s a little unnerving, him being so close,” said Trevor Buchanan of Constable. “I’m just glad it’s over.”
In nearby Malone, Cathy Leffler cheered outside Alice Hyde Medical Center, where Sweat was taken by ambulance. Jeffrey Gordon, a spokesman for Albany Medical Center, said Sweat was being transferred there for further treatment.
“I feel like I can sleep tonight,” Leffler said. “Life can go back to normal. It’s over now.”