Police are searching for an escaped inmate who fled a Philadelphia prison after telling a guard he was going to the toilet while working in an orchard on Thursday.
Gino Hagenkotter, 34, has a history of retail theft, burglary, and probation violations and is a prisoner at the Riverside Correctional Facility.
He was working in an orchard outside the nearby Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Facility on State Road when he left without permission.
It is the same prison that two inmates escaped from earlier this year, sparking a ten-day manhunt.
According to a document obtained by Action News Hagenkotter was with a prison guard when he escaped, no force was used and no injuries were reported.
Gino Hagenkotter, 34, has a history of retail theft, burglary, and probation violations
He was last seen in CCTV footage wearing a white shirt and blue pants
He was performing supervised work duties at an orchard when he ‘excused himself to use the restroom’ shortly after 12.10pm.
About 10 minutes later a guard went to check the restroom and found that he was gone and had ‘left the location’.
All of the prison facilities were then locked down by 12.20.
Sources told CBS that he left a prison yard, crossed through some woods and passed through part of a sanitation facility. He then crossed the Ashburner Street I-95 overpass and headed onto Torresdale Avenue.
Hagenkotter’s last known addresses are the 7700 block of Cottage Street, the 3500 block of Shelmire Avenue and the 11800 block of Brandon Road in Philadelphia.
His last arrest was for retail theft and he was released on charges by Philadelphia on Nov 16, but he was in custody for a probation violation in Bucks County.
The police memo described him as a 180-pound white male, approximately 5′6, with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a white shirt and blue pants.
A massive police presence could be seen in the area immediately surrounding Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center Thursday afternoon.
The Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center which two other prisoners escaped from by cutting a hole in a fence earlier this year
A Philadelphia Department of Prisons spokesperson told NBC: ‘Hagenkotter is serving a sentence for charges related to theft and burglary and met the criteria to have an outside work assignment.
‘Although this individual was in minimum custody, he should not be approached and anyone who sees him or is contacted by him should immediately call the police.’
DailyMail.com contacted the Philadelphia Department of Prisons for comment.
A parent of a student at the nearby New Foundations Charter School told NBC10 the school was advised to shelter-in-place for the remainder of the school day due to the escape.
The notification said: ‘About 20 minutes ago, we received a notification from police that a prisoner escaped from the prison. Per our conversation with the local district, this prisoner is part of a work-release program and is not deemed to be an immediate danger to the community.
‘That said, we have been advised to shelter-in-place for the remainder of the school day out of an abundance of caution.
‘A shelter-in-place means that instruction and school continues as usual, but there is no entering or exiting the building. There will be no early dismissals permitted.’
Nasir Grant, 24, escaped while awaiting trial on conspiracy drug and weapons charges. Ameen Grant, 18, who goes by the moniker Demon Time, is accused of killing four people between December 2020 and March 2021
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney expressed his anger at the escape and said that a full investigation into what happened will take place
It is the same prison that Ameen Hurst, 18, and Nasir Grant, 24, escaped from in May sparking a 10-day manhunt.
The two prisoners, including a Hurst who is accused of four murders, brazenly escaped prison by cutting a hole in a fence but authorities did not become aware of the break out until the following afternoon.
Grant is in prison on drug and gun charges while Hurst, who goes by the moniker Demon Time, is accused of four murders, the first occurring in 2020. He was referred to as a ‘very dangerous individual’ by one law enforcement official.
They were found at a home in Philadelphia and taken into custody.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said at the time: ‘Clearly the system screwed up and people didn’t do what they were supposed to do.
‘I’m really angry about it. There is no reason for this. And if everybody followed through and do what they are supposed to do, we wouldn’t have this problem.’
Danelo Cavalcante tried to run away, but a K-9 chased him through the woods, bit him and brought an end to the manhunt September 13. He was treated for injuries at the spot
Another notorious prisoner escaped from a different prison in Philadelphia – Chester County Prison – earlier this year.
Convicted killer Daniel Calvacante was on the run for two weeks after escaping in August.
The 34-year-old was serving a life sentence for the murder of his ex-girlfriend and awaiting transfer at the Chester County prison in Pennsylvania when he escaped by climbing a wall on August 31.
Cavalcante was seen on surveillance camera in the prison’s outdoor area looking at the camera before ‘crab walking’ between two walls, scaling a fence and jumping over razor wire during the daring break out that took place in broad daylight.
That sparked a massive manhunt for the suspect, that included him being spotted several times in the Pennsylvania woods.