NO HOLLYWOOD ENDING
Crook who escaped cell by carving through wall Shawshank-style goes back behind bars
AN inmate was recaptured after a Shawshank-style escape that saw him tunnel through the brick wall of a Texas prison.
Jace Martin Laws, 34, had been serving a 70-year sentence for two counts of assault on a police officer, but has now been handed a further eight years for the breakout.
4
Laws was convicted in October, and had been being housed in the South Jail Facility at the Gregg County Sheriff’s Office in the city of Longview.
He was able to escape from his cell on December 23 after carving out portions of its brick wall.
He then entered the building's infrastructure and moved through it to reach the outside and make his escape.
Laws was recaptured on December 27 after trying to hide at Laws Collision Repair, a repair shop owned by his father, who contacted authorities.
He was taken back into custody without incident.
The escape was reminiscent of that depicted in 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption, which sees a prisoner escape his cell by tunnelling through its wall before crawling to freedom through a sewage pipe.
SIXTEEN YEARS ADDED TO SENTENCE
On Thursday, Laws entered a guilty plea to the offence of Escape while Arrested or Confined and given an additional sentence of eight years.
He also pleaded guilty to a charge of Evading Arrest or Detention with a Motor Vehicle, for which he had been awaiting trial at the time of his escape and for which he was handed another eight-year sentence.
The two new sentences will be served on top of his original sentences of 40 years and 30 years on two counts of assaulting a police officer.
Laws was originally arrested in October 2018, and reportedly fought with two officers and groped their genitals after a short pursuit in Longview.
MOST READ IN US NEWS
The jury at his trial heard that he had two prior felony convictions, one for aggravated robbery and another for felony theft.
Gregg County Criminal District Attorney's Office said Laws was also the suspect in "several burglary, theft, and evading cases".
4
4
4
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.