BOLT FROM TERRACE GAOL.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1780, 19 June 1913, Page 6

BOLT FROM TERRACE GAOL.

v DONOVAN OUT AGAE

gUE & CRT, AND RE-CAPTURE. I ■ ■'

OATJGHT IN BOYAL TIGER,

During recent years several prisoners have escaped from tho Terraco Gaol, apparently without very much difficulty. Another case of brief "French leave" has occurred. Shortly after 2 p.m. yesterday some seven prisoners were placed in one of the triangular exercise yards, while their cells were being cleaned. .Commanding , a view of the whole yard and its surroundings, a eenior warder walked slowly up and down in his tower. At 2.40 p.m. it became known to the authorities that a prisoner named Thomas Donovan had, in some un^® n way, got himself out of tho yard. The alarm saw a posse of warders and police promptly out in search of him. How He Got: Out. ■In accounting for'his disappearance, it may be mentioned that the exercise-yard is surrounded by galvanised-iron fences. Square-shaped, as ft whole it is partitioned into two triangles by a dividing fence. About tho middle of this fence aro conveniences, and these, to some extent, block tho warder's view of;the yard. Donovan had presumably noticcd this obstruction to supervision, and at the first available opportunity he wrenched one of the sheets of iron from the fence, and on getting through kicked away another sheet in the next fence, and so got out of the gaol precincts. Climbing down the hillside, he came into Abel Smith Street, where he was last seen , • seen he'was wearing a felt and_a brown coat. Sis recapture did not take long. How He Was Run Down. when, about 6.30 -.p.m., he <** * mnn whom lie fancied in the dquDttui light to strongly resemble tho pnwner. ,Verv wisely he at once ran to the P°™® -Barracks in Buckle Street, round the next and, securing »e ossisW o Senior-Sergeant Lyons and Uonstames Holmes and O'Connor, returned to the hotel. Donovan had half-finished a pint •of beer, and was drawing away com- " on, Donovan'/''said the Sergeant, 3 rithl" iS S aTd a Donovan "wait till I finish my beer!" With that he drank the rest of 'his glass, and was then taken ciuietly up to the gaol. Donovan was wearing a dark tweed tnm. He was in company with, another man not unknown to the police. ' His Previous Escape. it.i, ,-y i'c jiofc Donovam's first attempt to Start?. On the night of'ftiday, May 10 last, he, m other criminal named John Lewis, esaSed, but they were subsequently capturTby Mounted-Constables Pearson and Warner on tho hills in the vicmity of Makara Beach. The report dealing with their oapture, which appeared in YTheDominion, read:— "As the constables drew near, it was seen that both of the men were • armed with sandbags. The men, it is stated, threatened to use their sandba"s if the constables interfered with them. In response to this notification, of .hostility, both -Pf -the constables drew their revolvers and advanced on their errant. The prisoners apparently realised that the chase was up, and submitted to be handctiff-eu.

At the. time of their escape, both criminals were undergoing a sentence, ot three years' imprisonment for assault anil robbery. On May 14, they were brought before the Magistrate's Court and charged with being incorrigible rogues and vagnbonds. They were also chareed with having stolen a quantity, clotting f™" l the house of Charles Lmburgh at Isorthknd They were both sentenced to an extra six months' imprisonment for breaW S«A. to tato effect from the time of the expiry of their present sentence. Some of Donovan's History. Donovan is a native of Ireland, and is a single man of 30 years. He is a man of strong ' build, fair complexion, blue eves amu is described as being tattooed K head to foot." He has been convicted of theft, vagrancy, frand, assault,, undesirable character, robbery, escaping from custody,, breaking gaol, and assault nnri robbery. Hg has been, convicted 01 various crimes in South Africa and TasID At la the time of yesterday's escape, 'Acting-Gaoler Knight happened to be away at Point Halswell, where he was attending to gaol matters at the time of the escape. Ho described Donovan as being a "desperate person."