28 Wild Escapes That Happened With (Accidental) Police Help

By:: Cracked Writers; Brian C. Miller

November 24, 2022

28 Wild Escapes That Happened With (Accidental) Police Help

Movies and countless TV shows make the polices' job pretty clear the public-- Investigate crimes, find the bad guys responsible for perpetrating them, and then have them locked up in prison. We all pretty much innately understand that idea… But maybe some of the police involved in the incidents below didn't get the memo?

The below bumbling goofuses are straight out of a cartoon, chasing around criminals while the Benny Hill theme plays on repeat in the background at a blaring volume. They mix up their paperwork, they mix up orders, and sometimes they just let people out of jail because they're wearing khakis and ask nicely!

Honestly, I've never been to prison, but this list has shown that it might be easier to Shawshank Redemption your way out of the joint than anyone would want you to believe. Not that I particularly want to try it-- I don't really want to crawl through a sewage pipe for miles. But it's nice to know the option is there if I need it.

28 Jeffery Dahmer

Konerak Sinthasomphone might have been the last victim of serial killer / necrophiliac / cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer, were it not for the Milwaukee police. Drugged, naked and bleeding, Konerak had escaped from Dahmer's apartment-of-horrors to a street corner. Horrified witnesses called 911. Dahmer told the three cops who responded to the call that the 14-year-old Laotian was his adult lover. The cops bought it, and actually walked the kid back to Dahmer's apartment - after telling three hysterical African-American female witnesses to butt out and shut the hell up. 75 Jeffrey Dahmer murdered and mutilated four more young 72 men over the next two months before — Source: 14 Times Crooks Escaped ... With (Accidental) Police Help

27 Benjuiel Johnson

In September 2015, a so-called technical glitch resulted in convicted murderer Benjuiel Johnson being released from a Louisiana prison on good behavior. As if that weren't bad enough, authorities didn't even know he was gone until somebody called them to ask why a killer was wandering around their neighborhood. Don't worry, they caught him (and undoubtedly a lot of heat for letting him out). GRACKED.COM — Source: 14 Times Crooks Escaped ... With (Accidental) Police Help

26 Timothy Leory

On January 21, 1970, psychologist and LSD advocate Timothy Leary was sentenced to 20 years in prison for marijuana possession: once in prison, he was given a battery of aptitude and behavioral tests to determine an appropriate work detail. One of the tests was the Leary Interpersonal Behavior Test: the staff failed to take note of the amazing coincidence of the names and administered the tests to the man who had written several of them. Leary was able to skew his test scores to get himself assigned to working in the garden of the low-security part of the prison, from — Source: 14 Times Crooks Escaped ... With (Accidental) Police Help

25 Layquan Johnson

Layquan Johnson was a suspect in a non-fatal shooting of another person, and was being held in custody until his court date. On May 3rd, 2016, he used the details of his cellmate's case to convince the correction captain on duty that he was someone else and was due to be released. The captain bought it, and ended up NYPD turning Mr. Johnson loose. Не is currently still at large. CRACKED.COM — Source: 14 Times Crooks Escaped ... With (Accidental) Police Help

24 Charles Manson

It was local due diligence and sheer luck that put Charles Manson and his family behind bars. A 10-year-old boy found the gun The police used in the Tate murders, and a missed vital КАВС News TV crew found the clothes the killers discarded. clues. One of Manson's followers, Susan The police Atkins, had been arrested on a lucked into different charge, and went on to tell a fellow inmate all about the a witness. murders the cult committed. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Keystone Cops Moments That Let Criminals Go Free

23 Steven Sykes, Jr.

Sean Sykes, Jr. got out of an interrogation because his farts were too mighty for the detective to handle. After being found in a car with a backpack that had drugs and guns in it, he was brought in for an interrogation. When he stopped answering questions with anything other than farts, the interrogation was ended, and he wasn't charged with anything at that time. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Keystone Cops Moments That Let Criminals Go Free

22 Steven Russell

Con artist Steven Russell managed to escape prison in 1993 by simply changing his pants and tapping on the guard's window with a stolen walkie-talkie. The guards opened the gate for him, thinking that maybe he was an undercover cop and let him walk out. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Keystone Cops Moments That Let Criminals Go Free

21 Michael Floyd

Michael Floyd, who was facing charges for robbery and kidnapping, was able to escape a locked patrol car in handcuffs. CRACKED.COM Worried that the suspect might get too hot, the cop left the car running to keep the air conditioning going, left the partition slightly open to let air flow through the back seat, and then left the suspect to his own devices- unsupervised. Floyd was able to squeeze through the partition enough to roll down his own window, which was... well, his window for escape. — Source: 15 Keystone Cops Moments That Let Criminals Go Free

20 James Muth

James Muth (who was arrested for assault with his bail set at $50,000) fled after he was mistakenly freed from the Boyd County jail in Kentucky. While acting upon an alert for his release that was issued in a different county, the Boyd County officials didn't think to verify his local criminal status (as per the usual protocol). To make matters worse, they realized their mistake but didn't notify the local police. CRACKED COM — Source: 14 Times Crooks Escaped ... With (Accidental) Police Help

19 Paul Bernardo

CRACKED COM Paul Bernardo was free to rape four girls and kill two others because the police somehow overlooked testing his DNA. Due to a link with rape cases, police had obtained his DNA sample as early as December 1990 but due to a coordination problem, the testing was never carried out. Even when the police realized that Bernardo lied about the circumstances of his sister-in-law's brutal rape and murder, they never pressed him further. Не was immediately arrested when the DNA test was finally carried out in February 1993. — Source: 14 Times Crooks Escaped ... With (Accidental) Police Help

18 Christopher Dorner

CRACKED.COM During a manhunt for Christopher Dorner, a former police officer who went on a killing spree after he was fired, the LAPD shot up two different vehicles that were in no way similar to Dorner's. Two innocents were wounded in the process,and neither of them looked anything like Domer. The manhunt only ended ten days later when Dorner decided to shoot himself while being surrounded by the LAPD. I - 8068341 — Source: 14 Times Crooks Escaped ... With (Accidental) Police Help

17 Richard Ramirez

Serial killer Richard Ramirez, the Night Stalker, was once pulled over by a police officer when he was speeding away from a crime scene in a stolen car. MON-FRI The officer asked Ramirez whether he was the suspect in the recent string of rapes and murders. Ramirez responded, No way, man. The officer took his word for it, even though both the man and the vehicle matched descriptions that had been put out. Не then walked away from the vehicle, and Ramirez used the opportunity to make a run for it. CRACKED COM — Source: 14 Times Crooks Escaped ... With (Accidental) Police Help

16 The Cardboard Box Trick

CRACKED COM THE ORANGE THE ORANGE FLAVOR un CAS BYV a - E Mint m MILD - - police In 2008, a convicted Turkish drug dealer escaped a German prison by hiding inside a cardboard box, which was later loaded into a cargo truck that came to pick up stationery he and other prisoners made. — Source: 15 Keystone Cops Moments That Let Criminals Go Free

15 Delroy Grant

Delroy Grant was a burglar/rapist who had been targeting the elderly since 1992 and Scotland Yard missed THREE chances to arrest him. In 1999, officers went to Grant's home and took DNA samples, only to learn later that it was a different Delroy Grant. Some time later they discovered their suspect's true address and showed up without prior surveillance only to find him not at home, only his wheelchair-bound wife. In 2001 he was under investigation again but eliminated as a suspect due to the DNA on record having been marked a mismatch. Finally in 2009, Grant was convicted of — Source: 15 Keystone Cops Moments That Let Criminals Go Free

14 Jerrol Harris

CRACKED.COM IN 2015, MURDER SUSPECT JERROL HARRIS OPENED FIRE ON POLICE IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK. FOUR COPS DREW THEIR GUNS AND FIRED BACK, 84 TIMES... ...AND MISSED 83 TIMES. A SINGLE BULLET HIT HARRIS IN THE LEG, AFTER WHICH НЕ WAS APPREHENDED. AN AREA RESIDENT TOLD THE PRESS: I COULDN'T BELIEVE HOW LONG IT WAS GOING ON. — Source: 15 Keystone Cops Moments That Let Criminals Go Free

13 Steven Robbins

Convicted felon Steven Robbins, serving 60 years for murder since 2002, walked out the front door of a county jail after officers released him in 2013. Steven transferred to the jail from a state prison for an unrelated court hearing. Не was released afterwards because the paperwork that stated THIS IS A CONVICTED MURDERER. DO NOT RELEASE! was lost in the transferral (seriously). CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Keystone Cops Moments That Let Criminals Go Free

12 Kevin Mitnick

Wanted hacker Kevin Mitnick stayed a fugitive from the FBI for two and a half years... CRACKED.COM partly because FBI agents made regular phone calls, and he used their call logs to track their movements. — Source: 14 Times Crooks Escaped ... With (Accidental) Police Help

11 Jhon Gutierrez Rincon & Olmedo Vargas

Jhon Gutiérrez Rincón and Olmedo Vargas escaped from a maximum security prison in Columbia by getting one of the guards drunk. 1.00 INPEC INPEC INI EPAMSCAS BOGOTA EPAMSCAS ERON BOGOTA 0113046 120 TD 113061306 SCAS N BIOKO D SEPTIFMARE DF2017 01 DICIEMBRE 2017 13046120 TD1130613 After sharing drinks with him, the inmates managed to соах the intoxicated guard into letting them out on a booze run, and run, they did. Booze? Not SO much. CRACKED.COM — Source: 14 Times Crooks Escaped ... With (Accidental) Police Help

10 Quantrell D. Schwartzlow

28 Wild Escapes That Happened With (Accidental) Police Help — Source: 14 Times Crooks Escaped ... With (Accidental) Police Help

9 Kevin Jerome Pullum

CRACKED.COM Kevin Jerome Pullum escaped prison using Eddie Murphy's picture Не had an elaborate escape plan, but for that, he needed a picture for his fake ID. With limited choices, Pullum chose the picture he considered most resembled him: that of Eddie Murphy. The plan succeeded and he nonchalantly walked out of prison, which wouldn't have happened if a guard just took a quick look at his ID and saw Dr. Dolittle's face. — Source: 14 Times Crooks Escaped ... With (Accidental) Police Help

8 Van "Apples" Patterson

In 1995, a teenage girl reported a rape, but police didn't believe her story and the man was never charged with the crime. 20 years later, after backlogged rape kits were tested, Van Patterson, who is known by the nickname Apples, was finally charged for the 1995 case and two other assaults that happened in 1997 and 2009. HANNSPR Van Apples Patterson GRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Keystone Cops Moments That Let Criminals Go Free

7 Richard Lee McNair

Richard Lee McNair, a convicted murderer, was a prison escapee who managed to convince an apprehending officer that he was a jogger. 113°F CARL BORDELON BL-3 16:08:09 4/05/06 WED MIC-ON 7:50 The cop commented on McNair's rugged appearance and how he was matching up to description, but didn't seem to catch on to his odd decision to go jogging on a hot day, or that McNair had given him two different aliases: Richard Jones and Jimmy Jones. After 10 minutes, the cop bid McNair to be careful and let him go. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Keystone Cops Moments That Let Criminals Go Free

6 Deleted Finger Prints

Fingerprints and DNA samples from suspected terrorists were deleted from UK databases because the police neglected to file their paperwork. In order for biometric data This happened as the to be stored indefinitely in UK was on high terror the government's alert after the databases, paperwork recent terror must first be completed. attacks in France In this case, biometric and Belgium. data of about 800 suspected terrorists expired after six months due to such oversight. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Keystone Cops Moments That Let Criminals Go Free

5 Cornealious "Mike" Anderson

In 2000, Cornealious Mike Anderson was sentenced to 13 years in prison for armed robbery but released on bond while awaiting appeal. After his second appeal fell through the court officials failed to return him to prison to begin serving his sentence. Making the most of his opportunity Anderson got married, began attending church and started a family and a business, all under his own name and in the same town. When his sentence was up only then did prison officials discover that he had been free the entire time and finally sent US Marshals to arrest him. Having been — Source: 15 Keystone Cops Moments That Let Criminals Go Free

4 Ernest Fenwick MacInstosh

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police were closing in on notorious child molester Ernest Fenwick MacIntosh, so they called him and left a message. MacIntosh immediately fled the country. Не was finally caught and convicted seven years later for molesting a 9-year-old boy in Nepal. CRACKED.COM — Source: 14 Times Crooks Escaped ... With (Accidental) Police Help

3 The Ol' Fake Documents Trick

A criminal labeled as 'dangerous' got released after his accomplices sent a false document demanding his release using a fax machine in a grocery store. Not only did the document contain spelling errors, it also had the mark of the grocery store which the officials actually saw. They claimed that spelling errors were actually quite common in court documents and checking the document's source was not a part of the procedure. CRACKED.COM — Source: 14 Times Crooks Escaped ... With (Accidental) Police Help

2 Ted Bundy

In June 1977 Ted Bundy served as his own defence lawyer in a murder case against him. Не was allowed to walk without handcuffs or shackles. Не was also allowed to use the law library and this is where he escaped from. When the guard went for a smoke, he escaped from the 2nd floor window. GRACKED.COM — Source: 14 Times Crooks Escaped ... With (Accidental) Police Help

1 Craig Clamp

Some Liverpool police officers literally let Craig Clamp - who was under arrest - walk away from the hospital without a hassle. - ONE Не was taken there under supervision after having a heroin episode but when the time came to switch shifts, the new officers watched the wrong patient. The next time they saw Clamp, it was in the CCTV footage of his getaway. CRACKED COM — Source: 14 Times Crooks Escaped ... With (Accidental) Police Help

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