Station closed in hunt for murderer
Jan 21 2008 by Peter Leathley, The Journal
THE SEARCH for an escaped murderer sparked the closing of a major train station at the weekend.
Lee Nevins, an inmate at the high-security Frankland Prison, escaped last week when he was attending Sunderland Royal Hospital.
The 24-year-old was 14 months into a 17-year prison sentence for the murder of Lee Jobling, from Felling, Gateshead, when he slipped past police guards with his wrists still shackled in hand-cuffs.
But following a tip-off at approximately 6.15pm on Saturday police were prompted to close Newcastle Central Station and search trains for the fugitive.
The station was shut for around 40 minutes between 7pm and 7.40pm as a “thorough” search took place but Nevins was not found.
A Northumbria Police spokeswoman said yesterday: “Police responded to information that escaped prisoner Lee Nevins was to arrive at Newcastle Central train station. The decision to close a train station is a significant one and can cause alarm to the public.
“We would like to stress that the station was closed in connection with the search for Nevins and for nothing else.”
Crimestoppers put up a £1,000 reward last week for any information that leads to Nevins’s arrest. And police are currently dealing with a number of calls from the public with possible sightings of the criminal. A spokesman yesterday said: “We have had a few calls from the public but they haven’t given fruition to anything yet.
“There are a lot of follow-ups because the public are still ringing in which is good, but at the moment it’s negative.”
An investigation is still on-going as the police try to work out how Nevins, formerly of Leam Lane Estate, Gateshead, eluded police when he was at the hospital. He had asked to use the toilet but struggled free from prison officers and dodged a dog and helicopter search. He has been on the run for six days.
Nevins, was found guilty in November 2006 along with Mark Lang, of Harlow Green, Gateshead. Newcastle Crown Court heard how the pair had tortured Lee Jobling after drunkenly gate-crashing a party at his home in Cotemede on the Leam Lane Estate, Gateshead. He died 19 days later in hospital.
Nevins is 5ft 11in, with fair hair, blue eyes and an oval-shaped face, and was wearing a blue polo shirt and navy tracksuit bottoms when he escaped. Anyone with information should dial 999.
