Escaped prisoner recaptured, then flees from police

A week after he made a high-profile escape from cells at Wellington District Court, a prisoner has escaped again.

Daniel Minogue, 23, of Taupo, was serving time for burglary and theft offences when he escaped with two fellow inmates in Wellington last Monday.

He was recaptured in Rotorua on Saturday night after breaching the city's liquor ban. But within 24 hours of being locked up, he was back on the run from the cellblock at the police station.

On Sunday evening Minogue escaped again by removing a piece of wood from behind the toilet in his cell and using it to pry the bars apart.

He squeezed out of the gap and ran about 4km to a friend's home, where police found him a few hours later.

Senior Sergeant Anna Jackson said Minogue's technique for getting himself out of a confined space was a new one to her.

"No-one has ever escaped [from the Rotorua police station] in this manner before."

However, she is confident that, other than court, Minogue won't be going anywhere fast for the next few days.

"The cell he is now in has concrete walls and a steel cell door which opens into an internal corridor."

The two other men Minogue absconded with in Wellington were recaptured shortly after that escape.

- DAILY POST (ROTORUA), HERALD ONLINE STAFF