Ten years after the spectacular Saint-Jérôme helicopter escape, Quebec prisons are still real sieves if less than 15% Outside courtyards are fenced.
In March 2013, two inmates at Saint-Jérôme prison, Dany Provençal and Benjamin Hudon-Barbeau, went on the heels by hanging themselves from a rope attached to a helicopter.
Screenshot, I
The fugitives will eventually escape, hanging from a rope attached to the plane.
Two accomplices helped her escape, including Steven Marchisio, who returns for the very first time to this spectacular event on the show JE, which will be aired on TVA tonight at 21:30 (see text below).
Fifteen months later, in June 2014, the same scenario repeated itself. Three major drug traffickers awaiting trial escaped from Quebec’s detention center, also aboard a helicopter.
Although all of these fugitives were caught, these events bombed the Ministry of Public Security, which has ordered an official investigation. The latter in particular showed that these escapes were surprising but predictable.
22 fenced courtyards of 150
In view of the situation, then-minister Lise Thériault took the initiative to fence off more outdoor courtyards. His successor, Martin Coiteux, said he had a plan to fence off outside courtyards.
However, in the 10 years following the first escape, only 11 new yards were fenced off, including those from brand new detention centers.
So far, only 22 of the approximately 150 outdoor courtyards spread over 18 prisons have been equipped with fences. For security reasons, Public Security does not want to reveal what these are.
The CAQ government is “considering” the creation of fifteen additional safe courses today, a number that could be revised upwards. However, the ministry emphasizes that the aim is not to secure all courses.
Nothing to encourage the President of the Union of Prison Peace Officers, Mathieu Lavoie, who doubts that this project will ever be completed.
Not safe from escape
The situation is such that he would not be surprised if another helicopter breakout occurred in any prison in the province, including those in Saint-Jérôme and Quebec.
“The correctional service does not have the resources to live up to its ambitions, does not invest in the security of its facilities and this harms the safety of the surrounding population, the prisons and its staff,” argues Mathieu.
After these helicopter escapes, Quebec had also planned to better train correctional officers.
“We’ve seen memos pass by. But it’s useless if we don’t have the tools, people and resources to intervene. […] Clearly, it doesn’t work,” he denounces.
He apologizes for removing the pilot
Archive photo
Interview with Stevens Marchisio in the Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines prison.
One of the accomplices who hijacked a helicopter to carry out the spectacular escape from Saint-Jérôme has apologized for “scraping” the life of the pilot he kidnapped at gunpoint.
“I am sincerely sorry for the gesture I made towards you,” begins Steven Marchisio, providing his version of the facts for the first time.
“I hope that one day you will be able to forgive me,” continues the man incarcerated in Sainte-Anne-de-Plaines prison.
In an interview with JE, the perpetrator, who has a serious criminal record, says he was recruited by a fellow inmate to work on the helicopter escape of Benjamin Hudon-Barbeau and Dany Provençal. Given the information about his family, Marchisio said he had no choice but to accept as he felt his loved ones could be in danger.
The escape date was set for March 17, 2013. Marchisio would then have been admitted to rehabilitation under the pretense of a serious consumption disorder and thus left prison. He stayed in a therapy center for just a few hours before fleeing.
Hijacked Helicopter
Marchisio and an accomplice then showed up at Héli-Tremblant for a one-hour scenic flight. Once on board, Marchioso drew his gun, which he pressed behind the pilot’s head.
The pilot had no choice but to go to Saint-Jérôme prison. The plane landed on the prison’s roof, and a rope was thrown into the courtyard so that the two inmates could climb in, to no avail.
“I said to both of them: Hold on to the rope! ‘ Marchisio recalls.
The detainees complied, the helicopter took off to land 1.7 kilometers away, the fugitives were still hanging by the rope.
The latter continued their escape aboard an SUV before being pinned down a few hours later.
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