A prisoner escaped from the Sintra Correctional Facility on Friday afternoon, as confirmed by the Prison Guards Union to Notícias ao Minuto.
The escape occurred around 5:00 PM, while a group of inmates was working on a school construction project within the prison’s perimeter, but outside the main facility.
The inmate was painting the walls of the Rumos Building near the Sintra Correctional Facility’s school in the Lisbon district when “he evaded the guards’ surveillance,” stated the Directorate-General for Reintegration and Prison Services (DGRSP) in a communiqué.
The group of 11 prisoners was being monitored by only one prison guard. When the guard’s attention was diverted to oversee other inmates, the fugitive seized the opportunity to run and disappear in the vicinity of the Sintra Correctional Facility.
According to records accessed by Notícias ao Minuto, the escaped individual is Carlos Manuel Alves, a 57-year-old mason serving a four-year sentence for domestic violence and possession of a prohibited weapon. He was set to complete two-thirds of his sentence in October.
The DGRSP informed Lusa that the inmate’s family had been notified of the escape.
One of his daughters mentioned their mother is living abroad, the source added.
Notifications were also sent to law enforcement agencies, and “the defined security protocol was followed,” emphasized the DGRSP.
The DGRSP also highlighted in their statement that an investigation process has been initiated, managed by the Audit and Inspection Service, coordinated by a public prosecutor, aimed at “determining the circumstances of the occurrence.”
Originally from Fundão, Carlos Manuel Alves lived in Camarate and has completed the 9th grade.
The Sintra Correctional Facility predominantly houses inmates sentenced from the Greater Lisbon area and, according to the Directorate-General for Reintegration and Prison Services (DGRSP) website, offers “various work workshops” in carpentry, locksmithing, and automotive mechanics.
Wings A and B of the prison have recently undergone “extensive renovations” that included “installing sanitary equipment in all cells” and enhancing “habitation conditions.”
Outside, in the recreation courtyards of the two wings, they have constructed courts for sports activities, such as volleyball, basketball, and soccer.
Furthermore, the first floor of one pavilion in Wing B has been adapted to house the “Intervention Project on Drug Addiction in Sintra (PITS),” which has been in existence since January 2005.
The Sintra Correctional Facility possesses a high level of security and a significant “degree of management complexity,” with a capacity for 767 inmates.
