E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSView more videos at: http://nbcnewyork.com.
A prisoner who escaped police custody while at a hospital in Jersey City was caught in a vent less than an hour after he tried to break free from the building, authorities said.
The suspect, who had warrants for shoplifting, was found lying on an air-conditioning vent not far from the bathroom where he escaped inside Jersey City Medical Center at 355 Grand St., police said.
"We found him in a section of the ER that was cornered off," said Charmaine Ifill, assistant director of nursing. "He wasn't able to go to the second floor or leave that area at all. It was blocked by two firewalls, so he wasn't able to leave the room at all."
Read the original report | More from NBCNewYork.com
Luis Torres was being cleared for incarceration at the hospital late Monday afternoon when he said he had to use the bathroom, according to authorities. He made his escape there, climbing through the ceiling and going up through a vent.
Torres was allowed to go to the bathroom alone because he wasn't a violent criminal, police said.
He was gone for about 45 minutes as police searched for him.
Patients and employees reported hearing the suspect crawl in the ceiling above them.
"You could hear him struggling, moving spot from spot to find a place to hide," said Ifill. "It was a little scary."
Patients were moved away from the two bays where he was believed to be, creating a small backlog in the emergency room as a result. Visitors were not allowed in the hospital as police searched for the prisoner.
Stay informed with the latest headlines; sign up for our newsletter
He was finally found lying on the vent less than an hour later.
Hospital staffers said they were equipped to handle the situation, which had never before occurred there.
"We're trained for this," said Ifill. "We take care of a lot of prisoners. We are trained to handle emergencies and situations like this."
Still, patients and visitors were rattled by the brief escape.
"What if someone was really hurt from this situation?" said Pedro Sanchez of Jersey City. "It's not just a hospital. There's an elementary and middle school right around the corner."
It's not clear if Torres had an attorney.
More content from NBCNews.com:
- FBI: Man stuffed ATMs with fake cash
- Report: Ariz. military recruiters shot paintballs at homeless
- Prank gone wrong? Alabama teen shot in head
- Undocumented hit GED barrier in quest for legal status
- Video: Skydiver’s edge-of-space dive breaks sound barrier
Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook
Leave a Comment:
I sympathize with the guy. It just seemed like he was trying to vent his frustrations about going to jail.
Way to go sunshine... you had shoplifting charges, you would have probably walked on. now you have attempted escape and destruction of property.....what a schmuck..................
IA.ScooterTramp,
Don't you have your kiddy scooter to push down the street?
Yep. Now he's gone from on top of the vent to down the toilet.
he may be a candidate for Americas Dumbest Wannabe Criminals...whooosssshhhhh, is the flushing sound you hear. Good ones Scooter & Bill
SingBiker - IA.ScooterTramp is right. All he was facing was shoplifting and now you are talking about escape and destruction. He would probably have recieved a slap on the wrist and a fine. Now you are talking possibly prison time. I would think that you are the one that should be pushing a kiddy scooter down the street because you are not smart enough to ride it!
He may not be in the U.S. legally, hence the escape attempt, Scooter.
gm Jack....Bill..
you too sing... but ya really should back off on the toad licking this early in the morning.
Only a hick hillbilly would call themselves okie. That is the dumbest redneck name ever. Sing Biker was right, IA scooter needs to get on his kiddie scooter and push off. And you need to go to school okie before your parents find out you are skipping class. Unless they are stupid like you and can't figure it out.
Gee Alex, tell us how you really feel.......
B.T.W. - you left out toilet training-inbreeding-the KKK-pick up trucks-hound dogs-and other possible derogitory references
The prisoner made it worse for himself because police will have to charge him with an attempt to escape!
Talk about unintelligent...of course, had he escaped it would have been different.
Misdemenor to a Felony which lasts for life. Then when he does a few years Prison time and not County jail they will ask what are you in for? Shoplifting/Escape. The reply will be thank you, my new girlfriend I prayed for has arrived. What a Dumb @ss.
He would have been unintelligent with a few additional hours of freedom. No real difference.
This sounded like a Saturday Night Live skit: banging around in the ceiling while everyone tracked his dumb-a$$ed movements. What a putz.
Taken to jail for shoplifting??? No wonder our prisons and jails are overcrowded. Now this idiot will do more time for evading or resisting arrest.
No, taken to jail for warrants. That means he could have gone to municipal court and paid a fine, but didn't bother showing up.
Our prisons are overcrowded because of people who have a total disregard for our laws. People like him, people like you, and people like our president, who announces that some crimes don't count if you're part this guy's ethnic group.
jrsygrl, I was completely agreeing with you up until the mentioning of the president. It's unfortunate your ignorance creeped out from what was soon-to-be a very intelligible statement.
Sorry to disappoint you, Stephanie, but when you tell law enforcement officers to ignore "little" crimes committed by those eligible for the Dream Act, you send a message, and that message is not good.
Per DHS.gov;
Individuals who have been convicted of any felony, a significant misdemeanor offense, three or more misdemeanor offenses not occurring on the same date and not arising out of the same act, omission, or scheme of misconduct, or otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety are not eligible to be considered for deferred action under the new process. 'Significant misdemeanor' indicates any Class A, B, or C misdemeanor.
Per ICE.gov:
What offenses qualify as a felony?
A felony is a federal, state, or local criminal offense punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding
one year.
What offenses qualify as a “significant misdemeanor”?
A significant misdemeanor is a federal, state, or local criminal offense punishable by no more than one
year of imprisonment or even no imprisonment that involves: violence, threats, or assault, including
domestic violence; sexual abuse or exploitation; burglary, larceny, or fraud; driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs; obstruction of justice or bribery; unlawful flight from arrest, prosecution, or the scene of an accident; unlawful possession or use of a firearm; drug distribution or trafficking; or unlawful possession of drugs.
How many non-significant misdemeanors constitute “multiple misdemeanors” making an
individual ineligible for an exercise of prosecutorial discretion under this new process?
An individual who is not convicted of a significant misdemeanor but is convicted of three or more other
misdemeanors not occurring on the same day and not arising out of the same act, omission, or scheme of misconduct is not eligible to be considered for deferred action under this new process.
What qualifies as a national security or public safety threat?
If the background check or other information uncovered during the review of an individual’s request for
deferred action indicates that the individual’s presence in the United States threatens public safety or
national security, he or she will be ineligible.
And from what I read on Dreamact.info, even cases which have been expunged can still disqualify the applicant, and sealed juvenile records can be unsealed for this purpose. These will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis--one teen on their comment thread got on a train without paying the fare because her farecard wouldn't scan, and that teen is ineligible for deferred action and will still be deported; another teen got a truancy charge for being a few hours late to school four years previously but that apparently was ok.
Individuals who have been convicted of any felony, a significant misdemeanor offense, three or more misdemeanor offenses not occurring on the same date and not arising out of the same act, omission, or scheme of misconduct, or otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety are not eligible to be considered for deferred action under the new process. 'Significant misdemeanor' indicates any Class A, B, or C misdemeanor.
Exactly which category does boarding a train with a defective ticket fit under? Felony? No. Significant misdemeanor offense? No. Three misdemeanor offenses? No.
One teen posting on a thread, and that's all it takes for you to form an opinion. I'm impressed.
one teen on their comment thread got on a train without paying the fare because her farecard wouldn't scan, and that teen is ineligible for deferred action and will still be deported
Wait a minute, I saw that movie. A man goes to his NYC apartment to find squatters there. Instead of kicking them out, he befriends them. Then the man gets caught in the subway when his ticket won't scan and gets deported immediately. Was it Liberal Arts? I can't remember.
If we're going to use Hollywood movies as examples to prove a point, I'm gonna point out Men in Black. Look how many petty criminal illegal aliens they let stay on earth!
Getting on public transportation system without first paying fare is considered theft of services whether you are illegal or a citizen, and theft is a significant misdemeanor. In my municipality it's a 60 fine and/or 24 hrs in jail. Whether your card scans or not, defective or not, if you don't pay before you get on you're breaking the law.
Whoa, hold on. I was trying to point out to Stephanie that your comment 'law enforcement has been instructed to overlook little crimes by those eligible for the Dream act' was accurate, as they are overlooking truancy charges but not overlooking expunged significant misdemeanors like theft of public services.
Having filed for the two year deferment, she outed herself as an illegal. As her background check shows she broke a law, she will now be deported as a criminal illegal. Very basic.
I don't quite understand the reason for your sarcasm. I was trying to prove the point you made in your comment.
JBuford banned for racist remarks.
He was not "in" the vent, he wasn't even "on" the vent. They try to make it sound like he was inside some sheet metal duct as portrayed in the movies. You can clearly see some JPL Foil faced Flex Duct still connected to the sheet metal can and the exhaust grill.
He ripped out some of the T-Bar and ceiling tiles in an attempt to escape through the ceiling space. If he was able to get "inside" the duct as it were, then he is a prime candidate for Santa Claus because chimneys would be a cinch.
Nope...because he would enounter grates that are installed to keep critters out.
In 30 years of construction work. I have never come across a critter grate. Maybe a diffuser or a damper, but not a critter grate.
critter gates?...... ya mean prophylactics?...............:)
Now they can add attempted escape to the list of charges.
wow, you are a rocket scientist mathuin. did you figure that out all by yourself, or did the lightbulb go on when you read 50 other posts saying the same ignorant thing?
Some Guy....that's a good one. He was "venting" his frustrations..... ha ha ha ha...
Torres....FIGURES!!
Like dumb criminals don't come in all races - LOL. What do I call dumb? People who post racist nonsense!
reno191...FIGURES!
That was crazy he had misameanor charges now he has a felony DANG DANG DANG YOOOOOOOOOU BIG OLE DUMMMMY!
He has watched too much TV. Like no one can hear you climbing through the vents. LOL. James Bond, he is NOT!
Hell, most people can't fit through the vents, let alone crawl around in there quietly. If this guy managed to crawl around in there without either getting stuck just inside or falling through the bottom of the duct, he must be built like a four-year-old.
Whats the difference between him shoplifting and our government stealing from the poor and giving it to the rich and sending money to the muslims in the middle east our highest government officials steal everyday and they dont spend one day in jail, since we have a shortage of cops they need to chase after the murderers and all the rapists and catch all the hard criminals first.
Had it been your business he was stealing from, this might be more important to you. I doubt he was jailed for taking Snickers bars.
Comparing this to government crimes (?) is rather ridiculous.
Yeah, when someone is crawling around in the ceiling trying to evade law enforcement, they really should just back off and go chase after the hard criminals first. (Perhaps the ceiling crawler will kindly wait in the ceiling while not escalating his stupidly criminal behavior.)
@Angels91..What does this story have to do with any of the $h!t you just brought up?
Angels,
How exactly do you steal from the poor, and what is the government "giving" to the rich?
U R AN IDIOT
I second that!
You are ridiculous, an ignorant fool, and you are a big hypocrite allpeoplesrights. Whatever the moron took while shoplifting, its nothing compared to how bernanke at the FED rapes all americans for Trillions of dollars over the past few years. But your pea brain can't handle that kind of math, now can it ? Idiots like you will ensure america keeps sliding into the toilet.
So the suspect tore down the ceiling and the cops just stayed outside the bathroom did they leave out the door was locked and the cops could not get in. So this happened just like in the movies.. Hy can i go to the bathroom, Sure make it quick, man he sure has been in there a long time lets check. If the cops were not so naive this wouldn't of happened...
I think (and hope) they figured that would be too cliche to actually happen.
It wasn't much of an escape if he didn't even make it out of the building. I would call it a desperate attempt.
more along the lines of "hide and seek"
Man crosses street without incident. Film at eleven.
We are sorry to report your regular televised program will be delayed due to the presidential debacle.....er.....debate....it.will now be broadcast at twelve however in its entirety
Like many of you said, it would be impossible for him to be inside the vent. He would had been one itchy guy. It appears that the vents have fiberglass insulation in them. Possibly he would had to be on top the vent instead.
Anyway, he got in over his head on this one and I predict a 5 to 7 year sentence if not longer for him.
not try-the drops are flex but the ductwork is heavy gauge (for duct) - usually high pressure and fairly large due to the distance from the source the heat/cool has to travel- fibergals is generally not used due to it's rough surface and tendency to 'shed'.
hospitals are built with alot of containment. 5/8 drywall walls to deck on most rooms for fire, sound, or contamination containment. dampers in all fire wall penetrations.
he is lucky he did not get to a vertical shaft for the chance to plummet a few floors. the fall would not hurt but the stop at the bottom probably would.
The Great escape......NOT.
I find the majority of individuals with warrants we caught were doing what I call "Doing The Case of Stupids" or "DTCS". Normally not for speeding but taking a drink of alcohol while driving right next to and looking at us or some really stupid stunt knowing full well of our presence.
Stupid is what stupid does!
-Forest Gump
(SNICKER!)
"There's an elementary and middle school right around the corner."
Here's some useful information. I'm sure a non-violent shoplifter is going to attack some kids at a school while trying to escape the hospital.
shop lifter is synonymous with bell tower sniper is it not. It is odd how the jump was made from some dingdong trying to get away from a shoplifting charge to 'lock down'.
The same sort that hides in the basement everytime it rains for fear of a tornado taking them out turns this story into red alert.
As an RN, I think all people in custody of the law should be handcuffed, at the least. And not let alone, even in the bathroom. Patients & staff could have been really hurt. I've had patients react very violently.....it happens.
Still, patients and visitors were rattled by the brief escape.
"What if someone was really hurt from this situation?" said Pedro Sanchez of Jersey City. "It's not just a hospital. There's an elementary and middle school right around the corner."
Really? Come on, the guy was a idiot but it wasn't like he was armed and dangerous. Talk about making a big deal over nothing.