PHILADELPHIA (NEWSnet/AP) — Police were searching Friday for an inmate who escaped from a Philadelphia jail by walking away from work detail, the fourth breakout from a city lockup in 2023.
Gino Hagenkotter, 34, who is serving time on theft and burglary charges, was working in the orchard on the grounds of Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center in Philadelphia shortly before noon Thursday when he asked a guard for permission to use the restroom, said Blanche Carney, commissioner of Philadelphia Department of Prisons.
After Hagenkotter did not return, the guard checked the restroom, but he wasn’t there, officials said.
Hagenkotter scaled a fence, walked through a city sanitation department yard next to the prison and removed his jumpsuit. He was last seen on surveillance video walking down the street, according to Frank Vanore, deputy police commissioner.
Vanore said Hagenkotter does not have “any dangerous history,” but officials warned he should not be approached, and urged anyone who sees him to call police.
Hagenkotter was due to be released Thursday from nearby Riverside Correctional Facility into a transitional program. But officials canceled the transfer after learning he had open retail theft charges in Bucks County, and told Hagenkotter he would continue serving time at Riverside until April 2024, Carney said. She said officials believe that played a role in his decision to escape.
He is the fourth person to escape custody in Philadelphia this year. In May, two men escaped from Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center. They were missing for 19 hours before authorities were aware of the escape. A woman briefly escaped from the same jail in September by scaling fences topped by razor wire.
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