Police are hunting for two inmates who escaped from an upstate New York jail and are considered dangerous.
Police say 35-year-old Eddie R. Palmer and 34-year-old Joseph Lee Mitchell escaped Thursday evening from the Monroe County Jail in Rochester.
It's not clear how the two men escaped from the jail. Authorities believe the two men could be headed for Georgia or Florida, ABC affiliate WHAM-TV reports.
Palmer was in jail for possession of stolen property and a probation violation, while Mitchell was in jail on federal drug charges - having played a part in the importation of 5kg of crack-cocaine to Rochester.
When police arrested Mitchell in January he was found to be in possession of a handgun. He may have re-acquired a weapon and is considered dangerous.
Because of Mitchell's alleged connection to a narcotics ring, police say he may have contacts to help hide him and Palmer - both nationally and internationally.
Rochester, N.Y. - In the first successful jail escape in 15 years in Monroe County, two inmates were able to cut a metal bar and slide through a narrow opening only about a foot wide.
According to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, the two cellmates escaped around 8:45 p.m. Thursday. Somehow they cut and removed a metal bar and then smashed through their second-story window. The subsequent fall measured roughly 20 feet.
The inmates who escaped, Eddie R. Palmer, 35, and Joseph Lee Mitchell, 34, are considered dangerous.
Palmer's description is 5'10" and 235 pounds.
Mitchell's description is 6'2" and 200 pounds.
According to deputies, they didn't have a long head-start. During a Friday afternoon news conference, Major Steve Koster said the two men were only missing for about five or ten minutes before their escape was discovered. There are not enough prison guards to watch each cell at all times, but Koster said the activity did not go unnoticed for very long.
Police began searching for the two on Thursday night. By Friday midday, Rochester Police, New York State Police and U.S. Marshals were seen closely watching an area near East Avenue and Culver Road. But Koster said that investigators had found no new leads at that time.
"We don't yet know how they cut and removed the bar," Koster said. When asked how difficult it would be to cut the bar, Koster responded, "Very, very difficult."
Investigators are trying to determine if the two men had help on the outside, whether it was help getting away from the scene or a place to hide. "We believe that is a possibility," Koster said. "And we will treat them as armed and dangerous fugitives."
How did They Escape?
Court documents say the plan involved $50,000 cash, a cell phone, and a cutting tool.
Authorities interviewed another Monroe County inmate today about what he knew prior to the escape.
The inmate said within the last week, Palmer told him that he expected to be paid $50,000 cash from Mitchell to help Mitchell escape. Palmer also obtained a cell phone and cutting tool to help Mitchell carry out his plan. A search of Mitchell's jail cell uncovered a cell phone charger.
Who are The Escapees?
Palmer’s lawyer, Aaron Sperano, said his client was facing a criminal possession for stolen property charge stemming from allegations in 2010 that Palmer stole an elderly man’s motorized wheelchair and drove it out of Strong Hospital. He was arrested on Elmwood Avenue while allegedly riding in the wheelchair.
Palmer completed a prison sentence of four years and six months--between August '95 and June '99--when he was released from Attica.
He was in the county jail in lieu of $2,500 cash bail.
Court records indicate Mitchell has been in jail since January on a federal charge of narcotics distribution and was being held without bail.
Mjr. Koster could not say why Mitchell was being held in county jail after being arrested in a federal case. "That's not common, but it can happen for a variety of reasons," Koster said.
Police believe the men have family and associates in other states, but there's no evidence that the men have left the Rochester area. "I would not approach either of these two men in any way," Mjr. Koster said. "I would get to a phone and call 911. And if you can get a description of a vehicle or clothing, that would be very helpful, but certainly don't get near these men."
The jail spent the day repairing the broken jail bars and window.
Workers soldered a new bar into place and put up a new pane of glass before 4 p.m.
It went unnoticed long enough for them to cut a bar( must be an old jail) the newer bars are hollow with a loose bar inside so it rolls instead of cuts.
I hope they catch them soon, even though I would think they were either picked up by a third or have already gotten a vehicle in some other way.
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
John Adams
(04-01-2011, 07:12 PM)IMaDick Wrote: It went unnoticed long enough for them to cut a bar( must be an old jail) the newer bars are hollow with a loose bar inside so it rolls instead of cuts.
I hope they catch them soon, even though I would think they were either picked up by a third or have already gotten a vehicle in some other way.
Thats a great idea! We make burglar bars all the time and I could charge 20% more just for this innovation.............bitch
(04-01-2011, 07:12 PM)IMaDick Wrote: It went unnoticed long enough for them to cut a bar( must be an old jail) the newer bars are hollow with a loose bar inside so it rolls instead of cuts.
I hope they catch them soon, even though I would think they were either picked up by a third or have already gotten a vehicle in some other way.
Thats a great idea! We make burglar bars all the time and I could charge 20% more just for this innovation.............bitch
Go for it.
If it raises the bar for your business maybe you could afford to have another kid?
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
John Adams
(04-01-2011, 07:12 PM)IMaDick Wrote: It went unnoticed long enough for them to cut a bar( must be an old jail) the newer bars are hollow with a loose bar inside so it rolls instead of cuts.
I hope they catch them soon, even though I would think they were either picked up by a third or have already gotten a vehicle in some other way.
Thats a great idea! We make burglar bars all the time and I could charge 20% more just for this innovation.............bitch
Go for it.
If it raises the bar for your business maybe you could afford to have another kid?
Heard about it on radio this afternoon...got home too late for local news. This is more info than I had before. Thanks for info. Will post updates as I see them here.
i'm tracking it too. they probably left the area, but lock up your car too.
At a noon news conference, sheriff’s Maj. Steve Koster said that the inmates, who were not cuffed, cut a bar on the inside of a window in the second-floor cell they shared in the jail, which is near Plymouth Avenue in the Public Safety complex.
It’s believed the inmates then broke the window, slid out and hung from the window sill before dropping 10-15 feet to the ground.
Eddie Palmer is one of the inmates who escaped the Monroe County Jail last night, and his mother says she has a message for him. Leslie palmer says her world was turned upside down today.
“I woke up this morning, turned on the news and there it was staring me in the face- my son was looking back at me,” says Leslie Palmer.
And that was just the beginning. A few hours later, she says her house was surrounded by police.
The nationwide manhunt continues for the two men who broke out of the Monroe County Jail.
Police have raided several homes in Rochester since Thursday night. They say they got tips to go search those homes, but we found county documents that show just about every place we know of that police raided were -- at one point -- owned by one of the escapees.
Our cameras were outside an apartment house on East Boulevard at East Avenue on Friday as U.S. marshals and police searched for the escaped inmates. Major Steve Koster of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office says police got a tip.
Along with the following, which came from our local news, there is now a reward offered..$5000
Investigators are trying to determine whether three reciprocating saw blades found in the grass near the Monroe County Jail were used by two inmates who escaped from the jail Thursday.
Monroe County Sheriff's Cpl. John Helfer said the blades — several inches long and designed to cut metal and other dense materials — were found Friday morning on Spring Street, not far from the jail and in the general direction investigators believe Joseph Lee Mitchell, 34, and Eddie Palmer, 35, fled after cutting through a bar on a second-floor window of the jail.
Tests will be conducted to determine whether the blades were used to cut the bar, Helfer said.
QB tells me a major announcement will be made tonight at 8 PM on these creeps. i hope they are in custody!
Rochester, N.Y. - The U.S. Marshals Service is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of Joseph Lee Mitchell and Eddie Palmer.
The men escaped from the Monroe County Jail on Thursday night. Police consider them to be armed and dangerous. Anyone who sees them is warned not to approach them.
Anyone with information is asked to call.
U.S. Marshals (585) 263-5787,
Monroe County Sheriff's Office (585) 753-4178, or 911.
WHAM
Rochester, N.Y. – One week since two Monroe County inmates escaped from the jail, Sheriff Patrick O’Flynn said he is looking at whether the inmates had help from deputies or other inmates.
Sheriff O’Flynn shared new information this morning about the March 31 jail break in which Joseph Mitchell and Eddie Palmer cut through a jail bar and broke out a window.
He said the FBI crime lab in Buffalo is testing saw blades found near I-490 to see if they were used in the escape.
“We’re hoping to get information back from them that may be able to tie them to the case and any other evidence,” O’Flynn said.
The Sheriff said his office is still investigating if any deputies or fellow inmates aided Mitchell and Palmer.
“We're reviewing every part of operations. We’ve gone through jail and did a shakedown, which is looking for evidence of problems, issues, contraband that may have been in the facility.”
He said deputies will be punished criminally and internally if they were found to have aided in the jail break.
During the initial search after the jail break, deputies found a cell phone charger in the inmates’ jail cell.
Monroe County Jail escapees caught in Sodus, Wayne County Next county east of Monroe, so not far away
Posted at: 04/08/2011 6:16 PM | Updated at: 04/08/2011 7:02 PM
News 10NBC has just received word from the Wayne County Undersheriff Rick House that the two inmates who escaped from the Monroe County Jail last week were caught in Sodus, Wayne County this afternoon.
Eddie Palmer and Joseph Lee Mitchell are both in custody at the Federal Building at this hour.
One of the suspects was arrested by a Wayne County Sheriff's Deputy in Sodus. The other suspect was later apprehended.
The Marshall's Office along with U.S. attorney William Hochul will hold a news conference at 8:00p.m. Friday.
............bitch
