- Sweat reportedly told investigators that Gene Palmer, a prison guard, was not involved in the escape
- Sweat tells investigators he and Matt planned to go to Mexico, New York governor tells radio program
- Sweat remains in critical condition in secure area of Albany hospital, official says
Malone, New York (CNN)David
Sweat and Richard Matt planned to head to Mexico after busting out of
Clinton Correctional Facility more than three weeks ago, but had to
improvise after the prison tailor accused of aiding them failed to show
up to give them a ride, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday, citing statements
reportedly made by Sweat to investigators.
"They
would kill (tailor Joyce) Mitchell's husband, and then get in the car
and drive to Mexico on the theory that Mitchell was in love with one or
both of them," Cuomo told "The Capitol Pressroom" radio program.
"And then they would go live happily ever after, which is a fairy tale
that I wasn't read as a child. But we all believe what we want to
believe."
Prison worker Joyce Mitchell is accused by authorities of helping Matt and Sweat in their escape.
But when Mitchell failed to show up, the pair had to improvise and instead headed north, toward Canada, Cuomo said.
According
to Sweat, he and Matt were together until five days ago when Sweat said
he decided to go on his own because the older inmate was slowing him
down, Cuomo said.
A
New York state trooper captured Sweat on Sunday after firing two shots
at the fleeing escapee. Sweat, 35, is hospitalized in serious condition
in Albany, the state capital.
Matt, 49, died Friday when police encountered him near Malone, New York, and fired on him.
On Sunday, New York State Police Sgt. Jay Cook spotted Sweat near a barn in the sleepy New York town of Constable. Sweat bolted, and the officer gave chase.
"At
some point, running across a field, he realized that Sweat was going to
make it to a tree line, and possibly could have disappeared, and he
fired two shots," New York State Police Superintendent Joseph A. D'Amico
told reporters.
Sweat, who was unarmed, was struck twice in the torso. No one else was hurt.
He
is being treated in a secure area at Albany Medical Center, according
to a hospital official, who declined to be identified. "Multiple people"
from law enforcement and hospital security are guarding him, the
official said. The hospital has a security team trained to react to
trauma situations to ensure the safety of both patients and staff, the
official said.
Sweat's capture meant that for
the first time in more than three weeks, upstate New York residents
awoke Monday to a day that wouldn't involve navigating police roadblocks
or the fear of encountering a desperate and dangerous escapee with
little to lose.
"It's just been really
hard on everybody," said Steve Lashway, who owns a meat market near
Clinton Correctional Facility, the prison from which Sweat and his
fellow inmate Matt escaped. "It lasted 23 days, but I think it probably
felt like 23 weeks to most people."
On Twitter, area resident Kate Messner echoed the sentiment.
"It's been a long 23 days, but this morning, the woods just feel like woods again," she said.
Authorities and residents praised the trooper's actions in firing on Sweat, calling Cook a hero for bringing the escaped killer in.
His actions were appropriate, Maj. Charles Guess of the New York State Police told CNN's "New Day" on Monday.
He
positively identified Sweat, repeatedly commanded him to stop, engaged
him in a lengthy foot chase and only shot him after coming to the
conclusion he was close to disappearing behind the tree line, Guess
said.
Ed Gavin, former deputy warden for the New York City Department of Corrections, agreed the trooper was justified.
"Article
35 of the (New York) penal law permits you to use deadly physical force
to stop a fleeing felon who is either charged with a felony or
convicted of a felony," Gavin said. "So the police officer was spot on."
A photo exclusively obtained by CNN
shows Sweat in custody moments after his capture. He appears bloodied in
the photo and is wearing a camouflage outfit, not prison garb.
"I can only assume he was going for the border, that he was that close," D'Amico said.
It's
critically important that Sweat stay alive, officials said, so
authorities can learn how he and Matt escaped -- and who helped them.
But
for now, "the nightmare is finally over," Cuomo said Sunday. "We wish
it didn't happen in the first place. But if you have to have it happen,
this is how you want it to end."
Guess
praised what he called the "dogged determination" among investigating
agencies and a "full court press" that led to Sweat's capture.
Bug repellent and Pop-Tarts
Not only did Sweat manage to swap his prison garb for camouflage, he also had a backpack full of supplies, the governor said.
"He
had maps, he had a certain amount of tools, he had bug repellent, he
had wipes, he had Pop-Tarts," Cuomo told CNN's "New Day."
It's not clear whether Sweat acquired those supplies before his escape, or if he stole or collected them while on the run.
As
for Matt, an examination of his body revealed "bug bites on the lower
extremities, blisters and minor abrasions consistent with living in the
woods for three weeks," state police said.
After
Matt was killed, authorities could smell alcohol on his body from a few
feet away, according to a law enforcement source briefed on the
investigation.
Evidence suggests Matt had been ill, possibly from contaminated food or water, the source said.
Matt
was dressed in dark brown pants, a dark green jacket, and heavy, dark
colored boots when he was shot, Franklin County Coroner Brian Langdon
told CNN.
"He was dressed for the woods," Langdon said. "He would blend right in if he stood still."
Matt's clothing was not torn or ragged. Langdon recalled an odor of stale blood.
"I thought he was kind of well kept for somebody who's been living in the woods for 20 some odd days," Langdon said.
What's next for Sweat
In
addition to his current life sentence, Sweat will probably spend at
least seven years in solitary confinement, said Jeff Dumas, a retired
sergeant at Clinton Correctional Facility.
So
what incentive would Sweat have have to talk to investigators? Possibly
getting out of solitary confinement early, Dumas said.
"It's
a bargaining chip for him now," he said. "Within the department, he's
going to be locked into a cell, 23 out of 24 hours a day, in solitary
confinement. ... He's going to try to use that chip with New York state
so he isn't locked into 23 out of 24 (hours) for an extended period of
time."
Clinton County District Attorney
Andrew Wylie said authorities want to learn how Sweat escaped and
survived while on the run. But he seemed to limit the prospect of a plea
bargain on escape charges in return for those details.
"There's
certainly no plea bargain that we could put out there," Wylie told CNN.
"The Department of Corrections obviously wants information; they want
answers as well relative to how this escape occurred. So on that end,
whatever benefit that may be for David Sweat, only the time will tell."
Sweat might not have an incentive to tell the truth. Dumas said.
"That's
what you have to worry about -- what's in it for him?" Dumas said. "We
will see if this guy is narcissistic, if he has that type of ego that he
wants to display everything that he's done and actually tell the truth,
or if he's going to mislead investigators and just play a game to
entertain himself while he's locked in."
Relief all around
Both Sweat's mother and the family of his murder victim expressed relief after the killer's capture.
Sweat was serving a life sentence for the gruesome death of Broome County Sheriff's Deputy Kevin Tarsia in 2002.
"To
have someone you loved be ambushed, shot 15 times and then run over
with a car simply for stopping to check unusual activity in a town park
... is a pain that no one can understand if you have not been through
it first hand," Tarsia's relatives said in a statement Sunday night.
They thanked the 1,300-plus law enforcement officers who have searched for Sweat and Matt.
"We
are eternally grateful for the hard work and long hours that they have
put in, and so thankful that no innocent persons were hurt in this
hunt."
Even Sweat's mother was relieved after her son's capture.
"I
was just hoping that he would turn himself in," Pamela Sweat told Time
Warner Cable News. "We started crying because (he) wasn't killed."
And area residents can walk outside their homes now without the fear that one of the escapees might be hiding.
"We
were so nervous, we've had our houses locked down," said Constable
resident Audra Buchanan, who hadn't let her 9-year-old daughter go out
to play.
What went wrong
Matt and Sweat used power tools to carve their way out of the Clinton Correctional Facility on June 6.
Mitchell,
the prison tailor who has been charged with aiding the escapees, has
admitted to smuggling hacksaw blades by hiding them in frozen hamburger
meat, a law enforcement official said last week.
The two inmates had received special privileges for good behavior, such as having hot plates and refrigerators in their cells.
But even months before the escape, the official said, Mitchell used baked goods
to win favors for Matt and Sweat -- including asking one guard to pass
frozen hamburger meat to Matt, bypassing the prison's metal detector in a
violation of policy.
Gene
Palmer, a guard on the honor block where Matt and Sweat were housed,
was arrested and charged with promoting dangerous prison contraband,
destroying evidence and official misconduct.
He
appeared in court Monday and waived any more hearings in Plattsburgh
Justice Court. The case will now go to a grand jury in Clinton County
Court.
After the hearing, District
Attorney Andrew Wylie said he may wait up to a month to schedule a new
court date since a new attorney is representing Palmer. Wylie also said
that Sweat reportedly told investigators that Palmer was not involved in Sweat's escape.
"From
what I understand, in reviewing the reports today, he (Sweat) told
investigators that Palmer had no involvement in the escape. It was just
Mitchell, he and Matt," he said.
Palmer's
attorney, William Dreyer, told CNN his client would plead not guilty to
the charges. No plea was entered in court on Monday.
Palmer's previous attorney had said Palmer was unaware of the meat's contents when he was asked to get it to Matt.
And there may be more prison employees under scrutiny.
The
FBI has launched an investigation into possible broader corruption at
the Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York, law enforcement
officials briefed on the probe told CNN on Monday.
The
probe is looking into possible drug trafficking and other criminal
behavior among prison employees and inmates, the officials said. Some
employees interviewed have told investigators about heroin use among
prisoners, and the role of employees in the drug trade.
Separately,
investigators have been questioning guards about what conversations
they had with the escapees about life outside the prison, according to a
law enforcement official.
They believe
Sweat and Matt had gathered information for almost a year about hunting
cabins and the fields around the prison to help them navigate the
terrain.