A man who escaped from a prison unit located on the campus of Ancora Psychiatric Hospital is back in custody, having been found in Philadelphia.
WINSLOW TWP. -- Township police, along with the state Department of Corrections, have announced that a man who escaped from a prison unit located on the campus of Ancora Psychiatric Hospital is back in custody, having been found in Philadelphia.
Panagioti Souris, 43, escaped from Bayside Prison's unit at Ancora Hospital Oct. 24 (photo provided). Panagioti Souris, 43, was incarcerated in a minimum-security satellite unit of Bayside Prison for drug charges when he slipped away from the facility on Saturday morning. He was first discovered missing during a bed check, and was still missing during a head count shortly after.
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A Department of Corrections spokesman could not provide details, but said that Souris had been taken into custody in Philadelphia at about 4 p.m. after less than 24 hours on the loose.
He was taken into custody peacefully near the corner of Sixth and Market streets after being surrounded by officers from the Philadelphia Police Department and the NJDOC's Special Investigations Unit, according to Matt Schuman, DOC spokesman.
It was not clear how he had gotten to the city, or how he got away in the first place.
The DOC also noted that the escape was counterintuitive for Souris. He would have been up for parole in December of next year. Depending on a judge's decision, however, he could now face between three and five additional years on his sentence.
"He was gone for about 10 hours," Schuman said. "He could have a lot of extra time for those 10 hours."
Souris was in the custody of Philadelphia police on Saturday evening. He will likely be extradited back to New Jersey and charged with escape.
Andy Polhamus may be reached at apolhamus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ajpolhamus. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.
