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A MAN who escaped from a local prison and then handed himself into police days later has been jailed for an extra 12 months.
Blake Levy had spent less than two months behind bars for assault before he fled the Glen Innes Correctional Centre on the afternoon of November 7.
According to police facts, the 27-year-old was working in the grounds of the minimum-security facility and was spotted during the 2.45pm muster.
When the 5pm headcount was carried out by prison officers, Levy was no where to be seen, sparking a major police search by New England police.
Levy, who has close ties to Glen Innes, is believed to have remained in the area until he handed himself into Glen Innes Police Station shortly after 8.40am on Monday.
“Police made a number of inquiries with relatives and friends and examined links to the Glen Innes area, and publicised his disappearance, which ultimately resulted in him presenting to the police station,” New England Detective Inspector Ann Joy told Fairfax Media.
“He presented to Glen Innes Police Station at about 8.40am on Monday and was subsequently arrested and charged with escaping lawful custody.”
On Tuesday morning, magistrate Michael Holmes sentenced Levy to a further 12 months behind bars for the escape, with the sentence due to start after his original jail term expires.
Fairfax Media understands Levy was sentenced in Glen Innes Local Court to 12 months imprisonment on September 13 for assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
His earliest parole date was on March 12, next year, when the new sentence will start.
Levy will now be first eligible for release on March 11, 2019.
It’s understood Levy will now also be transferred to a higher-security prison to serve out the remainder of his sentence.
Levy is one of 11 inmates who have escaped from the prison farm in the last four years.
Breanna Chillingworth
Northern Daily Leader Senior Crime and Court Reporter
Northern Daily Leader Senior Crime and Court Reporter
