Escaped Murder Suspect Caught After Almost 2 Months

Christopher Haynes was recaptured in Maryland after DC escape, US Marshals Service says
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 13, 2023 5:10 PM CDT
Updated Oct 27, 2023 10:44 AM CDT
DC Police Raise Reward for Escaped Murder Suspect
Christopher Haynes.   (DC Police)
UPDATE Oct 27, 2023 10:44 AM CDT

A fugitive murder suspect who escaped from custody at a Washington, DC, hospital after his arrest has been recaptured after almost two months. The US Marshals Service said Christopher Haynes, 30, was taken into custody without incident at a home in Maryland Thursday morning. Haynes escaped on Sept. 6, the same day he was arrested in Virginia in connection with an August shooting that killed one man and seriously injured another, NBC News reports. Police say he will be charged with the murder of Brent Hayward and will also be charged in connection with the escape. It's not clear whether anybody will claim the $30,000 reward offered for information leading to his arrest, reports the New York Times.

Sep 13, 2023 5:10 PM CDT

Police in Washington, DC, have raised the reward for a murder suspect to $30,000 a week after he escaped from custody at George Washington University Hospital. Christopher Haynes, 30, was arrested by a fugitive task force last Wednesday in connection with a double shooting and escaped the same day, NBC Washington reports. Police say he was taken to the hospital after he complained about pain from an ankle injury. Acting DC Police Chief Pamela Smith said two officers were handcuffing Haynes to a bed in the hospital's emergency department when he escaped.

"When the officers transport a suspect or arrestee to the hospital, we typically take the handcuffs off," Smith said, per Fox 5 DC. "The arrestee is handcuffed to the gurney or the bed which he may be sitting," Smith said, but after Haynes' handcuffs were removed, he "aggressively moved away from the officer and fled the scene." Smith said both officers chased Haynes but couldn't catch him. She said the police department has opened an internal investigation.

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Haynes was arrested in connection with an Aug. 12 shooting in Washington that killed 33-year-old Brent Hayward and left another man with life-threatening injuries, police said. Law enforcement sources tell WUSA9 that Hayward's family has been receiving police protection since the escape. Police described Haynes as a 6-foot, 205-pound Black man with shoulder-length dreadlocks and a Washington Nationals curly W tattoo on his throat. Police say he may still have a handcuff on his right wrist. (Another fugitive, escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante, has been captured in Pennsylvania after nearly two weeks on the run.)

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