Post date: May 01, 2013 6:38:57 PM
UK ( Next Media) - Three armed gangsters hijacked a transport van in broad daylight at a Manchester, England prison, springing two violent felons during the heist.
The armored van was transporting prisoners from Manchester’s privately run HMP Altcourt correctional facility to a sentencing hearing at the Manchester Crown Courtat 9 am.
A green Saab with three men wearing balaclavas smashed into the van, causing it to grind to a halt. The three men, suspected to be criminal associates of the sprung inmates, wielded hammers and a sawn-off shot gun and proceeded smash in windows of the van.Panicked prison officers unlocked the door to the transport van and two prisoners,Stevie McMullan and Ryan McDonald escaped.
Three of the criminals escaped in the green Saab, which was later abandoned. Two others escaped on a motorbike.
McMullan and McDonald were to be sentenced for violent robbery and kidnapping crimes.
Police believe McDonald used a smuggled mobile phone to orchestrate the heist.
-SOURCES: Sky News, The Mirror
http://news.sky.com/story/1084912/manchester-prison-van-ambush-two-escape
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/two-prisoners-run-after-prison-1861166