Police were called out after a dangerous prison absconder was apparently spotted in a town for the second time in a week last night. Officers, supported by the police helicopter, searched Hinckley on Wednesday evening after a caller said they believed they had seen Gavin Owens. Police said the object of their search was not found.
A previous sighting was reported to police2 on Tuesday, August 23.
Owens, 33, absconded from an open prison in Suffolk on Sunday, August 7. He was serving a sentence for a violent attack in Hinckley eight years ago, during which the victim was punched, run over and his neck slashed.3
Police now believe Owens is hiding somewhere in or near Hinckley and repeated a warning that he should not be approached or helped to remain at large. A Suffolk Police spokeswoman said: “Both the sightings have been in Leicestershire so we are working on the basis that this is where he is.
“Leicestershire Police is doing a lot of work to locate him and is keeping us informed of any developments.”
She added that his details have been put on the Police National Computer, (PNC) which is available to all forces. Owens escaped from Hollesley Bay open prison in Suffolk on Sunday, August 7. Also known as Gavin Burrell, he was given an indeterminate sentence for attempted murder, causing grievous bodily harm and actual bodily harm arising from the 2008 attack in Hinckley.
The victim, a 45-year-old man, spent 33 days in hospital after the unprovoked attack, which happened in front of his wife and daughter. The victim was beaten unconscious, run over, then slashed across the throat in the attack by Owens and two other men. The incident started at the Dog and Gun pub, in Hinckley town centre, just before 4am on December 30, 2008.
The victim, his wife and daughter were sitting outside when a brawl erupted indoors. He was punched in the face by Owens and lost consciousness when he fell and his head on the ground. When he came around, the family moved to the nearby taxi rank to go home.
One of his accomplices drove a Jeep up a pavement into the victim, who was carried on the bonnet round the corner into Regent Street. Owens, of no fixed address, jumped out of the vehicle and cut the injured man’s throat with a kitchen knife. Owens is white, 5ft 11ins, of medium build and has green eyes and very short brown hair.
He has several tattoos including a Celtic band on his right upper arm. Open prisons are designed for inmates who are nearing the end of their sentences and preparing them for eventual release by keeping them in a less institutionalised environment than higher security regimes. Contact police on 101.
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References
- ^ Comments (2) (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
- ^ A previous sighting was reported to police (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
- ^ violent attack in Hinckley eight years ago, during which the victim was punched, run over and his neck slashed. (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
