A 48-year-old man who escaped from Bruges prison on Saturday has turned himself in to the Dendermonde police, according to the local Bruges police.
Gunther V. had been cleaning the security booth of the Bruges prison on Saturday morning when he decided to flee. The escape was reportedly an impulsive decision triggered by personal reasons, said prison spokesperson Kathleen Van De Vijver. Gunther V. had been trusted with this role as he was not deemed a threat to society.
The prison fugitive was sentence on 15 July 2024 to two years in prison for heroin trafficking by the Bruges criminal court. During his incarceration, he had been granted several temporary release permits, including one on the day before his escape.
Over the past few years, Gunther V. had frequent run-ins with the law. In May 2023, he received a one-year prison sentence for six shoplifting incidents. Previously, he had been sentenced to a year in prison and 80 hours of community service for stealing bin bags, during which a shop employee suffered a broken ankle in a scuffle.
In November 2017, he was sentenced to 200 hours of community service for assault and armed resistance, after a dangerous incident on the E40 where he threatened to crash with his two-year-old daughter in the car. He also previously served an eight-year prison term for armed robbery.
On Wednesday, Gunther V. reported to the police in Dendermonde. He was immediately arrested and will have to serve the remainder of his sentence.
