Police are searching for a man who escaped from the Alice Springs Court House yesterday.
Jonah Mitchell (pictured), 18-years-old, jumped from the dock and escaped through the front doors of the court house during proceedings around 11am.
Corrections officers pursued the man on foot who ran into the Todd River. He was last seen on the corner of Wills and Sturt Terrace.
Jonah is described as being a 185cm tall man, with a tanned complexion, slim build and has a brown goatee and and shoulder length wavy brown hair.
Police report
UPDATE 11.40am January 20
Police say they have arrested Mitchell who was hiding in a house in Ciccone and charged him with one count of escape custody.
Applause … very courageous attempt and successful at that as well. [I would only do] such a thing for if I were not guilty. No way I’m going down for something I never committed and believe me that has happened to me. But I ever jumped the dock.
Very well put, FTP. I suspect you have never been guilty of anything.
Interesting that.
I don’t know what the situation is now but in the Netherlands in 1957 the charge of “escaping from custody” did not exist.
At the time a highly publicised gaol escape of a man who wanted to spend Christmas with his family took place.
When he handed himself in he faced no further charges or additional gaol time.
The rationale was that attempting to or escaping from custody is a natural human reaction to being restrained.
The people who allowed him to escape where regarded as having failed in their duties.
PS: In the case of POWs I believe attempting to escape is a duty. Tell me if I’m wrong.