Prison escapee Vaughan Grimston found drinking rum in stolen car just 3km from Cessnock jail
A Cessnock jail escapee who allegedly found a prison workers keys and went for a ride in their car was caught, just 3km from the jail some six hours later. He was allegedly sitting in the Hyundai Tuscon with a carton of Bundaberg rum.
Newcastle
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Serial car thief Vaughan Grimston was seven months into a 40-month prison stretch when he allegedly saw an opportunity and took it.
The 30-year-old allegedly found some keys belonging to a Cessnock jail employee as he was using a leaf blower yesterday and decided to use his criminal nous to make his escape about 11.15am.
But it appears Grimston left his intelligence inside the walls of the prison.
Allegedly armed with the stolen Hyundai Tuscon belonging to the prison worker, Grimston could have fled to known associates on the Central Coast or Sydney.
Instead, he drove 3km into the township of Cessnock, allegedly used a stolen credit card to buy a carton of Bundaberg rum and coke cans and decided to have a drink.
Police will allege Grimston parked in King St, just a few hundred metres from the town’s police station, and remained there for over six hours on the Bundy.
A resident, who had seen Grimston on the evening news, rang police.
Officers attended and found the low-level criminal still in the car, part of the way through his freedom drink, about 6pm.
But his afternoon of freedom may cost Grimston dearly.
Before his alleged escape, he was listed as a minimum-security inmate at the huge Cessnock jail complex.
It meant he had certain privileges, including being allowed to work outside the fenced-off area of the main prison to keep the grounds in check. But possibly never again.
If he is convicted of escaping lawful custody, Grimston will be classified as a high-risk offender and will have to spend the rest of his jail days in maximum security with the hardest of hard crooks.
He faces Newcastle Local Court today, charged with escape lawful custody, take and drive conveyance, being a disqualified driver, dishonestly obtain property by deception and resist arrest.