Chonburi police are searching for three suspects — two Thais and one American — who broke out of a courtroom in Pattaya on Monday and have been on the loose over 18 hours.
Col. Thanapong Pothi, Pattaya police chief, ordered officers to set up checkpoints throughout the province to find the three suspects, who are said to be “extremely dangerous.” On Tuesday morning, the authorities asked the Pattaya Provincial Court to issue arrest warrants for the trio.
All three were in court on drug-related charges when they escaped the Pattaya Provincial Court in the afternoon. During their escape, security footage reportedly shows one of the three stab Capt. Thanamet Pothipan with a knife in his torso. Another suspect forced a guard to give them keys, at which point they managed to escape the premises and drive away in a pickup truck.
Update: US fugitive shoots pregnant wife hostage, self in standoff with Thai police
Among the suspects is Ton Nintet, who was arrested on charges of drug possession — 100 tablets of ecstasy and 229,000 tablets of amphetamine — and assaulting officers of the law. The other two are US citizen Bart Allen Helmus and his Thai wife Sirinapa Wisetrit, who were arrested and charged with possessing 1 kilogram of ‘ice,’ or crystal methamphetamine.
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