Gaétan Campeau may be driving a stolen gray Kia Sportage with the Quebec license plate E93 PLP.
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Police were still searching Friday evening for a 49-year-old man who managed to escape custody while he was being treated at the Sacré Coeur Hospital.
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The man was being escorted by provincial correctional staff when he escaped at around 9:30 am Friday. He is believed to have stolen a vehicle that reportedly belonged to a nurse who works at the hospital.
Police sources have confirmed to the Montreal Gazette that the escapee is Gaétan Campeau, a man with a very lengthy criminal record who recently pleaded guilty to many charges at the Longueuil courthouse. Those charges included driving a vehicle while prohibited from doing so, car theft, assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm and several counts of violating probation orders.
According to court records, Campeau is scheduled to have a sentencing hearing in May. But while he was out on bail in all of those cases, Campeau was arrested in February as a suspect in an armed robbery carried out in Montreal on Dec. 22. On Thursday, he appeared before a judge at the Laval courthouse, where he made his first court appearance as a suspect in another armed robbery.
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The Montreal police reported Friday afternoon that Campeau may be driving a stolen gray Kia Sportage with the Quebec license plate E93 PLP.
A Montreal police spokesperson said the case has since been transferred to the Sûreté du Québec because the province’s detention centers fall under their jurisdiction and Campeau was technically in the custody of staff from a provincial jail.
The SQ released a description of Campeau Friday night. He stands 5 feet, 6 inches (1.72 meters), weighs 180 pounds (82 kilograms) and has brown hair and brown eyes. When he escaped, he was wearing black pants, a dark shirt and a dark jacket.
Anyone who spots Campeau is asked not to approach him, but to contact 911 immediately. Anyone with information that could help locate him can contact the SQ’s Criminal Information Center at 1-800-659-4264.