It took prison guards more than 12 hours to notice two young inmates had escaped through a hole in the ceiling after being held in COVID-19 isolation, a court has heard.
Shamus Tuohy, 22, and Matthew Piscopo, 19, used pillows to disguise themselves as sleeping when they escaped earlier this month, after causing an estimated $10,000 in damage to Victoria’s Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre.
The pair were 36 hours into lockdown after being identified as COVID-19 close contacts when they hatched their escape plan, Ballarat Magistrates Court heard on Tuesday.
About 7.30pm on August 6, Tuohy and Piscopo covered their cell windows with black sheets to discuss their escape, before each tried to break apart the sinks inside their cells.
Piscopo used broken sink components to cut a hole into the plaster ceiling above him and climbed through it across to Tuohy’s cell about 9.20pm, prosecutors told the court.
Tuohy was unsuccessful in breaking apart his sink, so Piscopo kicked the plaster ceiling until he could climbed through it.
They traversed the roof space and climbed down a ladder into a maintenance room, where they forced open the locked metal doors by breaking off a hinge.
External CCTV cameras captured the pair running across the prison car park to a nearby street, but guards did not notice they were missing until 10.30am the following day.
“Malmsbury correctional staff conducted hourly checks on the accused and co-accused throughout the night but did not discover they had escaped,“ prosecutor Clint Prebble said.
“They placed pillows and stuff towards under the blankets to give the appearance they were sleeping.“
He said the prison’s operations manager believed about $10,000 damage was caused during the escape.
Tuohy spent three days on the run before he was arrested at a motel in Corio, more than an hour’s drive from the prison.
His lawyer James Gilfillan said Tuohy was frustrated after being held in COVID-19 lockdown when he planned the escape.
“The fact that this wasn’t discovered until 10am the next morning is a bit concerning,“ he told the court.
“Ultimately, he does take responsibility for his actions that day.“
Tuohy pleaded guilty to nine charges while appearing by video link from an adult prison, including escaping lawful custody, criminal damage, stealing a vehicle and theft.
Magistrate Mark Stratmann sentenced him to one year in prison for the escape and other offences he committed in May, not including 92 days already spent in custody.
Piscopo will appear at Ballarat Magistrates Court on September 8.
