[Update below] Yesterday, the police revealed that a suspect in a 2010 homicide had escaped from their custody at the 78th Precinct early. While the NYPD hasn't officially released details about how exactly Brandon Santana managed to get free, sources say that he managed to make a break for it when he was let out to use the bathroom.
On Wednesday, Santana, 24, was taken into custody by police who were investigating the murder of Alexander Santiago. He was taken back to the 78th Precinct stationhouse, on 6th Avenue between Bergen and Dean Streets. According to the Post:
Detectives questioned Santana at the station house Wednesday night, and then left at the end of their shift at 1 a.m. yesterday, expecting to put him in a witness lineup later. An hour later, after he had been placed in a first-floor holding cell, Santana asked the officer minding him if he could use the bathroom.
When the cop opened the cell door, Santana — who was not handcuffed — shoved the officer, knocking him to the ground, and ran straight out of the station house, law-enforcement sources said. One cop behind the front desk jumped over it to chase him, but hurt himself in the process, sources said. A lieutenant also went after Santana but couldn’t catch up, sources said.
The Wall Street Journal reports, "New York Police Department officials said that the suspect was being pursued late Thursday, and that police are investigating how he was able to flee the precinct. A spokesman said whether Mr. Santana was handcuffed as he was being let out of the cell is still being investigated."
Alexander Santiago was brutally stabbed and beaten (with a crowbar) to death at 5th Avenue and 12th Street in Park Slope in August 2010. Santiago's mother was incredulous was Santana's escape, telling the Post, "The precinct fell asleep on him. Where were the other cops?"
Update: Fear not! According to the the police Brandon Santana was apprehended by the Regional Fugitive Task Force in the Bronx this afternoon a little after 3 p.m.
