Dennis Went charged with escaping custody after incident at Unanderra jail

Dennis Went was caught trying to “break in”.

(In fairness, it was after he had successfully broken out of the same facility eight hours earlier, police will allege).

Went, 55, was serving a sentence at the minimum security Unanderra jail when he allegedly made a break for freedom on the evening of August 3 last year.

Police claim it was exactly 7.29pm when CCTV cameras captured Went climbing through the prison’s accommodation block fence into a “sterile zone” (an area between the interior and exterior fencing) and disappearing from view.

His movements appear not to have been picked up by prison staff at the time and Went was not seen again until 3.45am, when guards monitoring the CCTV feed notice him stealthily climbing from the sterile zone back into the recreation yard.

He was immediately apprehended and taken to an observation cell.

When searched, it is alleged Went was found in possession of a Sony mobile phone, a Samsung charger and an Optus SIM card.

Went allegedly told police during a subsequent interview that he had remained in the sterile zone between his escape and capture.

However, prison guards told officers they conducted five patrols of the sterile zone that night and saw no sign of Went throughout the night.

It is alleged the patrols of the zone are so thorough that they make it “impossible” for someone to avoid detection.

Police will allege Went climbed into the sterile zone then breached the jail’s outer perimeter fence and absconded for eight hours before returning to the prison grounds.

Went was charged with escaping lawful custody and having possession of a mobile phone as an inmate, however he failed to turn up to court to answer the charges and had to be arrested on a conviction warrant on Thursday.

He will remain behind bars until his next court date in June, when he is expected to apply to have the convictions overturned.