Two men charged with escaping Canberra's jail used a cable tray that resembled a ladder to help them scale three fences in four minutes before they fled on foot, court documents have revealed.
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Jacob Robert Howard MacDonald, 21, fled the remand section of the Alexander Maconochie Centre, allegedly with another detainee, Patrick McCurley, 28, the night of Friday, September 2. Macdonald has plead guilty to a charge of escaping the prison, but McCurley is yet to enter a plea.
Police said they arrested McCurley following a police chase in Majura last weekend and officers captured MacDonald in Narrabundah on Saturday.
A statement of facts, tendered in the ACT Magistrates Court on Monday during MacDonald's appearance, said the pair took less than 10 minutes to escape the grounds of the Hume jail shortly after 11pm and were not discovered missing until a muster nearly six hours later.
The documents stated CCTV footage from the jail showed the pair climbed out a window of their accommodation shortly before 11pm and several hours after they had been locked inside with four other detainees for the night.
A few minutes later, they allegedly picked up a cable tray, which looked like a large ladder, from behind the kitchen and industries area.
The two men scaled the first inner perimeter fence with the cable tray about 11.11pm before they used it to climb over the second fence, the documents stated.
They then allegedly put the tray against the third fence and climbed to the top before they jumped off and into the outside grounds of the jail about 11.15pm.
Security cameras captured them fleeing the grounds of the Hume prison towards the Monaro Highway, court documents said.
Corrections staff noticed the cable tray leaning against the outer perimeter fence during a perimeter check about 4.10am.
A head count of all detainees later revealed MacDonald and McCurley were missing and police were called, the documents stated.
MacDonald wore a blue and grey prison tracksuit when he was brought before the Magistrates Court on Monday.
Police previously said he had been in custody for charges relating to property and burglary offences.
MacDonald pleaded guilty to escaping custody and did not apply for bail.
He was committed to the ACT Supreme Court for sentencing in October.
Police previously said a tip-off from a member of the public led officers to arrest McCurley, 28, after on Majura Road about 6pm last Sunday.
McCurley faced court last week charged with drug driving, stealing a motor vehicle, dangerous driving and escaping custody.
He has not yet entered pleas and will face court again later this month.
Corrections Minister Shane Rattenbury promised a full internal review after the incident, which sparked an extensive cross-border search and was the first successful escape from the jail since it began taking prisoners in March 2009.
He said Corrections was currently reviewing all security controls in place across the facility and an internal review would be conducted into the incident.
