Man who escaped custody using tissue and shoplifted at Cheshire Oaks sent to prison
A prisoner who sparked a huge manhunt after escaping from custody using a tissue has been jailed.
Paul Lupu, 20, stole £3,096 worth of "high-value" items from two stores at the Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, on 5 December last year.
He then returned to the shopping park three days later with a plan to target a third store, but was recognised by security guards and arrested.
Having been charged with two counts of theft, Lupu was remanded into custody after appearing at Chester Magistrates' Court on 11 December.
After the hearing, he was placed in a cell in a prison van to be taken to HMP Altcourse in Liverpool at around 3:15pm.
During the journey he started to cover a CCTV camera with tissue, Chester Crown Court heard.
The prison officers stopped the van and opened his cell door, when Lupu forced himself past them and, after a struggle, fled on foot. An extensive search for him was launched.Officers scoured the area with with support from the National Police Air Service, police dogs and the drone unit.
Lupu was arrested by officers in the Fairford Road area of Hoole, Chester, at around 6:45pm.He was subsequently charged with escaping from lawful custody and two counts of assaulting an emergency worker.
This week, he was convicted at Chester Crown Court and sentenced to one year and ten months in prison.
Chief Inspector Paul Fegan, of Cheshire Police, said: "Lupu stole quantities of high value items on a number of occasions, and his reckless behaviour since his initial arrest shows he holds no regard for the law.
"I welcome the sentence to Lupu, who is now behind bars where he belongs."This case demonstrates our determination to ensure that offenders are held accountable for their actions. Those travelling into Cheshire to commit crime are not welcome and will be pursued."
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