Some escape plans involve years of careful planning, strict discipline and a zen-like patience. (See: The Shawshank Redemption, Escape from Alcatraz.) And then there’s the approach taken Friday afternoon by Justin Patrick, an inmate at the Humboldt County Correctional Facility, whose entire scheme seemed to proceed from idea phase to execution phase in a split second — just enough time for the “flight” impulse to fire in the brain and travel through his motor neurons to his orange-slipper-clad feet. (See: video above.) 

Patrick has a long and inauspicious history on the LoCO. (See: bullet points below.) Here’s the press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

Justin Patrick

On 09-09-16 Humboldt County Correctional Facility inmate Justin Patrick appeared in the Humboldt County Superior Court before honorable Judge Hinrichs. Twenty six year old Patrick is currently in custody for assault with intent to rape, false imprisonment, and numerous misdemeanor charges. At about 2:43 pm Patrick was able to run from the courtroom and into the public hallway. The bailiff for Judge Hinrichs court broadcast a radio call that an inmate had just escaped. Several other bailiffs responded and captured Patrick not far from the entrance to the courtroom. The Sheriff’s Office will be seeking the additional charge of escape.

PREVIOUSLY on Justin Patrick: