Imposter escapes high-security B.C. prison

Another prisoner has escaped from the high security North Fraser Pretrial Centre in Port Coquitlam, again by posing as someone else and walking out the front door.

Dean Sykes, 39, wasserving a sentence for break and enter, but on Tuesday he appeared in court in Port Coquitlam posing as another inmate, Timothy Broadbent, 42.

The deception went undetected by authorities and after the court hearing Sykes was returned to thepretrial centre.

Still believing he was Broadbent, who was due to be released after the hearing, prison authorities allowed Sykes to walk out.He was last seen getting into a 1993 Plymouth Voyager van owned by Broadbent.

RCMP have issued a Canada-wide warrant forSykes. Broadbent was arrested on Wednesday and charged with aiding in Sykes's escape.

RCMP described Sykes as aboutsix feet one inchtall and 175 pounds. Policesay he has a lengthy criminal record,but is not considered a risk to the public.

B.C. Corrections spokeswoman Lisa Lapointe said prison officials are still piecing together how the pair engineered Sykes's escape.

"I understand that they were on the same living unit and they do resemble each other," she said. "Now inmates carry identification and that identification should stay with them. Somehow, we believe, these inmates were able to switch their identification. Exactly how they did that, we'll have to wait until the investigation and see."

The escape is the second from the facility in less than a year.

Dressed as a janitor, kidnapper Omid Tahvili escaped from the high-security pretrial centre on Nov. 15 with the help of prison guard Edwin Ticne, who later pleaded guilty to his role in that escape.