Less than 24 hours of freedom will cost a man nine more months behind bars.
Dennis Paul Haines, 33, pleaded guilty Wednesday to escaping lawful custody and possession of a dangerous weapon. Haines, who was originally charged with robbing a Sudbury bank, escaped from court security officers last month.
Justice Guy Mahaffy said nine months was ?the bare minimum? for a sentence, especially since Greater Sudbury Police found Haines in possession of a knife and bear spray when they recaptured him the next afternoon.
?The nine months requested by the Crown really is quite generous,? he said.
Sudbury?s Crown attorney John Luczak told the court Haines and a co-accused had spent a full day in court at a preliminary hearing Oct. 31 for bank robbery charges. They were being transported back to the Sudbury District Jail when Haines managed to break free from court security officers.
Both inmates were bound by handcuffs, but Haines unlocked his cuffs, pushed his co-accused into a court security officer and took off near the Sudbury courthouse, said Luczak.
Police conducted an extensive manhunt but failed to find him until the next day, where Haines surrended without incident, but was carrying a folding knife and can of bear spray.
The investigation did not uncover how Haines broke free from the handcuffs. Haines is charged with committing a string of armed robberies across the country, including one that took place at the Scotiabank on Barrydowne Road in Sudbury on May 31.
Two days after the Sudbury robbery, Haines and another man were stopped in Sault Ste. Marie. They were questioned and eventually arrested on drug charges and were later charged in connection to the armed robbery in Sudbury.
