Philadelphia police are searching for a prisoner who escaped custody while on work detail on Thursday, officials said.
Gino Hagenkotter, a 34-year-old inmate at Riverside Correctional Facility, was working a detail assignment in the orchard behind the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Facility (PICC) at 8201 State Road shortly before noon, according to officials.
Police took to social media Thursday night to share more photos of the man.
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Hagenkotter asked a guard if he could use the bathroom and was allowed to do so, Philadelphia Prisons Commissioner Blanche Carney said during a Thursday afternoon press conference.
Hagenkotter never returned after leaving to use the bathroom however, according to Carney.
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"This person was allowed to use the bathroom. The officer, when he determined that he did not return in sufficient time, it was then he went to that bathroom area and discovered that [Hagenkotter] had left the compound," Carney said.
Carney said the officer alerted officials at 12:05 p.m. that Hagenkotter escaped. Officials searched through surveillance video and determined Hagenkotter had climbed a fence and escaped through the facility's sanitation yard around 11:45 a.m.
All Philadelphia prison facilities were secured and placed on lockdown by 12:20 p.m. and Philadelphia police were notified, according to Carney.
"We activated our emergency alert system to notify the surrounding county. We stood up our immediate perimeter patrol within a quarter mile radius of our campus from Rhawn to Ashburner," Carney said. "In partnership, we started locking the jails down across State Road. All the activities were suspended. Any activities that were in progress were suspended, individuals were escorted outside the facilities. Counts commenced. Counts cleared. Absent the completed count for Riverside Correctional Facility for which this inmate was assigned and housed."
Philadelphia police responded to the facility around 12:30 p.m. Officers as well as K-9 units set up a perimeter in the area and closed surrounding roads though investigators believe Hagenkotter had already moved beyond the perimeter since he escaped the facility more than a half hour before they arrived.
"We have video of him walking down the street further down the block towards Torresdale Avenue," Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said. "All that was before 12 noon. Our perimeter was set up after that."
Vanore said the U.S. Marshals are helping with the search and they're checking all of Hagenkotter's known addresses.
Hagenkotter is described as a 34-year-old white man who was last seen wearing a white short-sleeved t-shirt, blue pants and dark-colored boots.
Investigators said Hagenkotter left a jumpsuit he had on while escaping and police dogs picked up the scent.
If you have any information on his whereabouts, please call 911 or Philadelphia Police at 215-686-TIPS
What we know about Gino Hagenkotter
According to court documents, Hagenkotter was in custody at the Bucks County Prison on retail theft charges in 2019 before serving time at the Riverside Correctional Facility on 8151 State Road in Northeast Philadelphia in April of 2023. Hagenkotter had violated his parole on several drug, retail theft and burglary charges, according to NBC10’s newsgathering partner KYW Newsradio.
"Hagenkotter is serving a sentence for charges related to theft and burglary and met the criteria to have an outside work assignment," a Philadelphia Department of Prisons spokesperson wrote. "Although this individual was in minimum custody, he should not be approached and anyone who sees him or is contacted by him should immediately call the police."
Commissioner Carney said Hagenkotter was supposed to be released on Thursday for a court-ordered program. However, that release was pushed to April 26, 2024, after officials discovered a retail theft incident in Bucks County he was involved in, according to Carney.
Carney said the delayed release date may have been the reason for Hagenkotter's escape.
"We do a secondary review before we process individuals from our custody to ensure that no other surrounding county or jurisdiction has any criminal holds for this individual. It was discovered that he had a matter in Bucks County that forfeited the bed date which he would’ve been released to a program today. And it was at that point he decided that he wanted to escape and he did," Carney said. “We believe that he was influenced by the fact he was aware that he was going to be released to a program. The Bucks County matter was retail theft. And we believe that that played a part in his decision to escape."
School placed on lockdown
A parent of a student at the New Foundations Charter School on 8001 Torresdale Avenue told NBC10 the school was advised to shelter-in-place for the remainder of the school day due to Hagenkotter's escape.
"About 20 minutes ago, we received a notification from police that a prisoner escaped from the prison," the notification to the parents said. "Per our conversation with the local district, this prisoner is part of a work-release program and is not deemed to be an immediate danger to the community. That said, we have been advised to shelter-in-place for the remainder of the school day out of an abundance of caution. A shelter-in-place means that instruction and school continues as usual, but there is no entering or exiting the building. There will be no early dismissals permitted."
Commissioner Carney said they quickly informed surrounding schools of the escape.
"The schools were informed," she said. "We notified and activated our emergency alert systems. We did have a few phone calls from the area schools asking for additional information for which we provided."
Issues at the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center (PICC)
Two inmates also escaped from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center (PICC) back in May. In early November, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner detailed multiple safety issues at PICC, including staffing shortages, faulty cameras and motion sensor poles that were turned off.
While Commissioner Carney acknowledged that staffing remains an issue at the facility, she also said a lack of staffing didn't play a role in Hagenkotter's escape.
"You had an individual present. So we’re covering all of our posts where we have incarcerated individuals," Carney said. "Yes we are short-staffed. We are working to fill back up to attract people back to corrections. We’re in one of the most competitive labor markets, we’ve never seen before. But the staff who report to work are doing their due diligence. In this case, you gave a person an opportunity and he took it."
Thursday’s escape occurred the same day a prisoner at the nearby Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility was attacked and killed.
This story is developing. Check back for updates.
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