Man who absconded while on prison release jailed

Paul Maxwell

A convicted murderer who absconded whilst on day release with prison staff in Rochdale town centre has been sentenced.

Paul Maxwell (04/10/1964), of no fixed address, admitted escaping from lawful custody and at Manchester Crown Court today, Monday 7 April 2014, was sentenced to two years in prison.

Robert William Capie (21/10/1960), of Craven Avenue, Ordsall, who admitted assisting an offender, was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to carry out 150 hours community service.

On 13 October 1996, Paul Mansell targeted the home of two elderly brothers who lived together at an address in the Wakefield area of West Yorkshire.

During a violent robbery at the address the two brothers were seriously assaulted. One of the brothers later died as a result of his injuries, aged 84.

On 16 June 1997, Paul Mansell was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Mansell subsequently changed his name by deed poll to Paul Maxwell.

On Friday 21 February 2014, while a prisoner at Buckley Hall prison, Maxwell was allowed a day's leave with a prison officer.

At approximately 1.25pm he dropped his shopping bags and ran away from the prison guard and a manhunt was launched by GMP's Serious Organised Crime Group.

One of the addresses visited by officers was a flat on Camponia Gardens, Salford, which is occupied by Robert Flynn, who is Maxwell's daughter's uncle and who was one of the last people to visit Maxwell in prison (on 05 February 2014).

CCTV was checked and the pair were seen leaving the flats earlier that morning. An area search was conducted and both men were arrested in Albert Park, Salford.

During interview Maxwell claimed to have turned up at Flynn's address the previous evening; however officers were able to establish that the defendants had visited a care home in Salford to see Flynn's mum just three hours after he had absconded.

Detective Constable Matthew Donnelly, from GMP's Serious Organised Crime Group (SOCG), said: "By his own admission, Maxwell used his day release as an opportunity to abscond.

"While there could have been little by way of planning - he simply just run away - there is no doubt it was calculated and premeditated and as a result, required a significant response from Greater Manchester Police, using valuable resources that may have been better used elsewhere.

"Because of determination of officers in the SOCG team, Maxwell was arrested relatively quickly, along with Flynn.

"It is a reflection of his character that even once caught he lied about where he had been, claiming to have arrived on Flynn’s doorstep hours before they were caught, when in fact we were able to establish that they were together just hours after he absconded.

"When someone is harboured while on the run it always makes the task of finding them that little bit more difficult, but what we have shown is that we will persevere until they are caught.

"This case also shows there are serious repercussions for those who aid and abet fugitives."