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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
National
Blake Foden

'Female acquaintance' shoves drugs down escapee's pants during prison visit

Lila Walto’s rampage against ACT prison car across Canberra’s inner south in July 2021 | July 2022 | Canberra Times

An infamous Canberra prison escapee has again landed himself in hot water, this time after a "female acquaintance" shoved drugs down his pants during a visit behind bars.

Kane Quinn, 30, is awaiting sentencing after briefly going on the run in July last year, when then-fiance Lila Rose Mary Walto, 29, busted him out of an ACT Corrective Services car.

Walto, driving a stolen Jeep Wrangler, pursued the prison vehicle through Canberra's inner south and rammed it repeatedly until Quinn, also known as Kane McDowall, was set free.

Prison guards were driving Quinn, who pleaded guilty to a charge of escaping from lawful custody after being quickly recaptured, to hospital for a medical appointment at the time.

In the ACT Magistrates Court on Friday, it was revealed Quinn has continued to mix inappropriately with women since being returned to the Alexander Maconochie Centre.

Court documents show "a known female acquaintance" visited him at Canberra's jail on April 9, when guards were on high alert because of previous concerns about the pair.

Prison escapee Kane Quinn, who is also known as Kane McDowall. Picture Facebook

"At the end of the visitation, the female acquaintance and [Quinn] come together for an embrace, where the female is observed to remove a package and place her hands down the front of [Quinn]'s pants," the documents state.

As guards quickly intervened, the woman put a jacket around both her and Quinn in an attempt to conceal what had just happened.

She was escorted out of the jail and left without further incident, as Quinn was handcuffed and taken to an isolated cell to be strip-searched.

"During the strip-search, a large package is located in the front of [Quinn]'s pants," the documents state.

"A short scuffle ensues between the correctional officers and [Quinn]."

Kane Quinn, in the dark blue jumper, runs from an ACT Corrective Services officer during his escape last year. Picture supplied

Guards subsequently placed what they had found on Quinn into evidence bags, which they sent to ACT Policing.

Police forwarded those to an ACT government laboratory, which confirmed Quinn had been caught with buprenorphine strips, cannabis, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.

Quinn admitted this on Friday, when he faced court via audio-visual link from prison and pleaded guilty to four charges.

These were possessing a prohibited substance, possessing a drug of dependence, possessing a declared substance without authorisation, and possessing a prohibited thing while a detainee.

His barrister, Stephen Robinson, urged magistrate Louise Taylor not to extend Quinn's non-parole period when she sentences him for the drug offences and the escape.

He noted Quinn was due to become eligible for release in December 2024, after serving a minimum of nine years over a criminal rampage that involved shooting at police in NSW.

Mr Robinson argued if the non-parole period was to be extended, the additional time should be "not much".

Prosecutor Margaret Smith accepted Quinn had been caught with "minimal" quantities of the drugs found in April, but she noted there were "a whole range of reasons" illicit substances were not allowed in jail.

Ms Taylor, who had been planning to sentence Quinn for the escape on November 9, indicated she would now impose penalties for that and the drug offences on November 30.

Walto was previously jailed by the ACT Supreme Court for six years and eight months over Quinn's escape and associated offences.

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