MONTREAL — Quebec provincial police are continuing their search today for the son of former Hells Angels kingpin Maurice (Mom) Boucher after he left a Montreal jail prematurely.
Francis Boucher was serving a 117-day sentence for having uttered death threats against police officers — a sentence due to be completed at the end of May.
The 39-year-old Boucher walked out of Bordeaux jail on Monday morning.
It still isn’t clear whether his escape is down to an administrative gaffe or the result of an inside job.
Public Security Minister Lise Theriault said in Quebec City today it appears as though Boucher was able to get out of Bordeaux with the help of what she called a “stratagem.”
Boucher, a former member of the Rockers, a Hells affiliate, was previously sentenced to 10 years for gangsterism, conspiracy to commit murder and drug-trafficking.
Theriault reiterated on Tuesday that Boucher’s escape was “inexcusable” and that the union representing prison guards is co-operating with the provincial police investigation.
On Monday night, officials had different takes on just how Boucher left the prison.
Marc Lyrette, the deputy director of the correctional system in Montreal, said he was released due to “what appears to be an administrative error.”
But Louise Quintin, a spokeswoman for Quebec’s Public Security Department, said Boucher used a “trick” to leave the prison and that his ecape couldn’t be blamed on an administrative error. She did not elaborate.
Theriault has ordered an administrative investigation to determine just how Boucher left the facility in addition to a police probe into the circumstances surrounding the event.
Quebec provincial police Sgt. Gino Pare said Tuesday it’s too early to say exactly how Boucher managed to walk out of jail.
Boucher’s latest sentence stems from an arrest last November at an east-end Montreal bar where he was intoxicated and bothering patrons.
When called to the scene, police told him to leave. That is when he allegedly threatened them as well as revealing his father’s identity.
Maurice Boucher was sentenced to life in prison in 2002 after being convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in the killings of prison guards meant to destabilize the justice system.
Boucher’s release is the latest in a series of gaffes involving Quebec’s detention facilities.
Earlier this year, Shamy Saint-Jean, 19, was able to leave the Riviere-des-Prairies detention centre after posing as his brother, who was scheduled to be released.
Saint-Jean turned himself in to Montreal police accompanied by his lawyer in mid-February and faces new charges stemming from the escape.
Quebec prison facilities have also come under scrutiny after being the subject of two wild jailbreaks involving helicopters to free inmates.
Last June, three inmates escaped from the Orsainville detention centre, located near Quebec City, using a chopper to escape.
And in March 2013, two inmates escaped in similar fashion from a detention centre in Saint-Jerome.
Theriault said she’s looking to tighten security measures at facilities, including biometric identification systems.