米受刑者２人、歯ブラシで脱獄 パンケーキ店で拘束

【ワシントンＤ．Ｃ．ＡＦＰ＝時事】米バージニア州の刑務所で２０日夜、受刑者２人が歯ブラシなどを使って脱獄した。ただ数時間後にはパンケーキが有名な飲食店で身柄を確保され、「完全脱獄」は成らなかった。（写真はニューポートニューズ刑務所から受刑者２人が脱獄した際に開けた穴。ニューポートニューズ保安官事務所提供）
　脱獄したのは、ニューポートニューズ刑務所に収監されていたジョン・ガルサ受刑者（３７）とアーリー・ネモ受刑者（４３）。
　２人は歯ブラシと金属片で作った道具を用い、壁の補強に使われていた鉄筋を入手。この鉄筋で壁に穴を開け、さらに外壁をよじ登って脱獄したとされる。保安官事務所は、建設の際の欠陥部分が利用されたとしているが、具体的な手口は明らかにしていない。
　しかし、自由をかみしめたのもつかの間。２人は２１日早朝、刑務所近くの町ハンプトンにある、パンケーキで知られるレストランチェーン「ＩＨＯＰ（アイホップ）」の店舗で拘束された。拘束時に店内にいたかは不明。
　保安官事務所によると、ガルサ受刑者は法廷侮辱や執行猶予中の違反行為の罪で、ネモ受刑者はクレジットカード詐欺や偽造などの罪で服役していた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/03/23-16:32）

It was almost a clean getaway: two American inmates dug their way out of prison with the help of a toothbrush -- only to be arrested hours later at a pancake restaurant.
The two men, identified as John Garza, 37, and Arley Nemo, 43, were reported missing from the Newport News Jail Annex Monday evening in the state of Virginia.
They used makeshift tools made from a toothbrush and a metal object to take advantage of what the sheriff's office called a construction flaw in a wall of the prison to gain access to unsecured reinforcement bars used in construction.
Using the reinforcement bar, they punched a hole through that wall and scaled another to make their escape.
But their taste of freedom was brief, as they were arrested in the wee hours of Tuesday at a branch of a pancake restaurant chain called IHOP in the nearby town of Hampton.
The sheriff's statement did not say if the men were inside or outside the restaurant when they were caught.
I'm thankful for the citizens who observed Garza and Nemo at the IHOP and notified law enforcement. It reinforces what we always say, 'see something, say something,' Sheriff Gabe Morgan said.
Garza was in custody on charges including contempt of court and probation violations, while Nemo was in for offenses including credit card fraud and forgery, the statement said.
The sheriff's office would not reveal exactly how the men exploited the flaw in the prison's construction.
Due to the fact that this weakness presents itself throughout the facility, and until all weaknesses are identified and secured, we will not discuss the situation further for security reasons, the statement said.