A robber who escaped custody twice in one week before making it to France has finally been jailed. Daniel Boakye, 21, fled from guards who were taking him to hospital by slipping out of his handcuffs while using the toilet.
Despite being caught the following day, Boakye escaped again just days later from a wheelchair at Lewisham Hospital while he was being taken for an X-ray. Boakye, who raps under the name Dsavv, was eventually arrested in the French town of La Bouëxière in Brittany 16 days later. However, police still have no idea how he managed to get to France from the UK.
Rap video taunts
While on the run, Boakye taunted the police in a rap video which included the lyrics 'I just broke out of jail like Modie', referring to a character from the TV series Top Boy. He also bragged about champagne, cannabis and being 'fresh home'.
The 21-year-old was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court on Thursday to 10 months in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of escaping lawful custody.
Background of the case
The court heard how he had been serving a six-year sentence at HMP Feltham for his role in a gang which stole £115,000 worth of cryptocurrency and held victims at knifepoint. He was due to face a parole hearing in February, but was also facing deportation to Ghana, a country where he has no family.
Boakye appealed against the deportation order but could not secure legal representation, which left him 'at a loss and desperate', the court heard.
Details of the escapes
His first escape happened shortly before 3am on February 10 after he had been taken to West Middlesex University Hospital following concerns he had swallowed pills. After asking to use the toilet he was given longer-chain escort handcuffs to provide him with 'dignity and privacy'. But, while in the toilet, he managed to slip free and covered his wrist with a blanket before running away from the hospital.
Two guards chased him into the car park and down the road but lost sight of him. Police eventually tracked him down to a house in Thamesmead on February 11, where he was seen trying to climb over a garden fence.
However, just four days later he was on the run again. While at Lewisham Hospital, he told officers he could see 'three versions of them' after swallowing three wraps of drugs. Subsequently, he was taken for an X-ray in a wheelchair without handcuffs because officers believed it was safer. But, as he was being taken back to his bed, Boakye suddenly ran out of the chair and downstairs before escaping into the car park.
Arrest and sentencing
Despite the police launching CCTV enquiries and searches, he had disappeared. This came before an Interpol Red Notice was eventually issued and Boakye was arrested in La Bouëxière, France, on March 3.
Eric Jeffrey, prosecuting, told the court: 'Police have very limited information on how he came to be arrested in France. There's no record of how he left the country or how he came to be in France.'
Boakye has 19 previous offences on his record, including carrying a knife and numerous robberies. His barrister, Paula Bignall, told the court he had lived in the UK since he was six and had spent time in the care system.
She said he was 'remorseful' and deeply regretted his actions, adding that he had been under pressure because he feared being sent to Ghana, where he had no family. Boakye also told the court in a letter that he had gone to France because he had family there.
Judge Charlotte Welsh said gangs had taken advantage of Boakye's circumstances when he was younger, but his escapes created a risk to the public. She added that she understood the 'enormous amount of pressure' he had been under, but said this did not excuse his actions. His 10-month sentence will be served consecutively to his existing robbery sentence.
