Police are searching for a man after he leapt out of a crown court dock and fled after being sentenced for actual bodily harm.
Nicholas Bunclark bolted from Liverpool crown court on Tuesday after a judge gave him a 16-month jail term. He had denied an assault in 2021.
Merseyside police issued an appeal with his mugshot, hoping people will come forward to pass on information.
The 30-year-old was convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm after an attack in a hostel in nearby Southport on 19 November 2021. He had punched a man who was woken in his bed by another man throwing a rugby ball in his face.
Bunclark was then part of a group of three who followed the victim down to the hostel’s reception and punched him, rendering him unconscious.
The victim, Connor Wilson, suffered a fractured cheekbone. The court heard in his victim impact statement that he had moved out of Merseyside after the attack, and that his mental health had suffered.
Judge Garrett Byrne had said that Bunclark had a history of breaching court orders and there was “no realistic prospect” of rehabilitation.
Bunclark, from Netherton in Merseyside, initially buried his head in his hands after being handed his sentence. However, the Liverpool Echo reported that afterwards, following a brief chat with his mother, he wrestled out of officers’ grasp, vaulted the unsecured dock, and fled the courtroom.
It was initially thought that he had not managed to escape the court building. Guards have been seen patrolling and keeping watch outside. A number of other cases listed to be heard on Tuesday were adjourned after the incident.
Merseyside police said “officers are still looking for Bunclark”, and appealed for help. They have asked anyone with information to contact the force or call Crimestoppers.
A spokesperson for HM Courts and Tribunals Service said: “The strict security measures we have in place ensure escapes from court custody are extremely rare and our staff and the police are now working together to recapture the offender.”
