Ten years after the spectacular helicopter escape in Saint-Jérôme, Quebec prisons are still real sieves when less than 15% outdoor courtyards are fenced.
In March 2013, Dany Provençal and Benjamin Hudon-Barbeau, two inmates of the Saint-Jérôme detention facility, took to their heels by hanging from a rope attached to a helicopter.
Screenshot, I
The fugitives will eventually escape, hanging from a rope attached to the aircraft.
Two accomplices helped in their escape, including Steven Marchisio, who returns for the very first time to this spectacular event, on the show Ibroadcast tonight at 9:30 p.m. on TVA (see text below).
Fifteen months later, in June 2014, the same scenario repeated itself. Three large drug traffickers awaiting trial escaped from the Quebec Detention Center, also aboard a helicopter.
Although all these fugitives have been caught, these events have had the effect of a bombshell for the Ministry of Public Security, which has ordered an administrative investigation. The latter revealed in particular that these escapes were surprising, but predictable.
22 fenced courtyards out of 150
Faced with the situation, the minister at the time, Lise Thériault, had taken the initiative to fence more outdoor courtyards. His successor, Martin Coiteux, said he had a plan to fence outdoor courtyards.
However, in the 10 years following the first escape, only 11 new courtyards were fenced, including those of brand new detention centers.
In total, to date, only 22 of the approximately 150 outdoor courtyards distributed in 18 detention centers are equipped with fences. Public Security refuses to reveal which ones, for security reasons.
The CAQ government is “considering” today the creation of fifteen additional secure courses, a number which could be revised upwards. Its objective, however, is not to secure all the courses, insists the ministry.
Nothing to encourage the president of the Union of peace officers in correctional services, 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 escape happened again in any prison in the province, including those of Saint-Jérôme and Quebec.
“The correctional service does not have the means to match its ambitions, does not invest in the security of its establishments, and this is detrimental to the safety of the surrounding population, detention establishments and its staff,” argues Mathieu. The way.
In the wake of these helicopter escapes, Quebec had also planned to better train correctional officers.
“We have seen memos pass. But it’s useless if we don’t have the tools, the manpower, the resources to intervene. […] Clearly, it does not work, ”he denounces.
He apologizes for removing the pilot
Archival photo
Stevens Marchisio interviewed at 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 having “scraped” the life of the pilot he kidnapped at gunpoint.
“I am sincerely sorry for the gesture that I committed towards your person”, launches Steven Marchisio, who delivers, for the very first time, his version of the facts.
“I hope that one day, you will know how to forgive me”, continues the one who is imprisoned in the penitentiary of Sainte-Anne-de-Plaines.
In interview at I, the offender with a heavy criminal past says he was recruited by a fellow prisoner to collaborate in the helicopter escape of Benjamin Hudon-Barbeau and Dany Provençal. Faced with information about his family, Marchisio says he had no choice but to accept, feeling that his loved ones could be in danger.
The date of the escape had been fixed for March 17, 2013. Marchisio would then have pretexted a serious problem of consumption to be admitted in rehab and thus leave the prison. He only stayed a few hours in a therapy house before fleeing.
Hijacked helicopter
Marchisio and an accomplice then showed up at Héli-Tremblant for a one-hour sightseeing 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 the Saint-Jérôme prison. The machine landed on the roof of the establishment, a rope was thrown into the yard for the two prisoners to board, in vain.
“I said to the two guys: hang on to the rope! “recalls Marchisio.
The detainees complied, the helicopter took off to land 1.7 kilometers away, with the fugitives still hanging from the rope.
The latter continued their escape aboard an SUV, before being pinned a few hours later.