A fugitive who escaped from a Quebec jail earlier this week has turned himself in, only to face new charges.
Accompanied by his lawyer, Francis Boucher showed up at the Bordeaux jail in Montreal shortly before midnight on Friday.
Around 1:30 a.m. a pair of Sureté du Quebec officers took Boucher to another location.
He then appeared in court Friday afternoon to be charged for escaping from jail, unlawful freedom and identity theft.
Boucher's surrender comes a day and a half after his lawyer, Dimitrios Strapatsas, urged Boucher to return to custody before the hunt to track him down took a tragic and violent turn.
"Mr. Boucher contacted me. A few minutes later at 11:50 p.m. we arrived at the Bordeaux Prison. We introduced ourselves at the gate," said Strapatsas.
Dimitrios Strapatsas said he does not know where Boucher went during his four days on the lam.
"I do not [know], I did not ask. My number one concern was his return in a safe and timely manner," said Strapatsas.
Boucher was serving a 117-day sentence for uttering death threats against a police officer. He also has a criminal record for gangsterism and drug trafficking.
Boucher was due to be released in May, but somehow managed to convince guards at the Bordeaux jail to let him go on Monday, instead of another inmate with the same last name.
Prison authorities have suspended one guard with pay while they conduct their investigation into the affair, which has turned into yet another embarrassment for Quebec correctional facilities; there have been several high-profile escapes involving helicopters from Quebec jails in the past two years, and more than 180 escapes in the past decade.
