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Newspaper picture accompanying newspaper article about Colombian trial.
1 April 1989
Fredericton, N.B

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The Colombians - In April 1989, the RCMP seized five hundred kilograms of cocaine, with a street value of $250 million, after a twin engine aircraft crashed outside of Fredericton. The pilots, Fernando Agusto Mendoza Jarmillio and Jose Ali Galindo-Escobar, were charged with importation of narcotics and possession for the purpose of trafficking. Following their court appearance on April 7th, they were remanded to the York County Jail and were locked in a cell on the main floor.

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Newspaper photo of two Colombians in custody.
1 April 1989
Fredericton, N.B

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Though the prisoners themselves posed no threat, security was tight in Fredericton throughout this ordeal. Snipers were perched on the roofs of the Court House and the Centennial Building, across the street from the jail, to prevent any escape attempts made by the pilots' drug cartel colleagues.

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Daily Gleaner newspaper clipping about Colombian prisoners escape plan.
1 April 1989
Fredericton, N.B

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Fears of a possible escape plot were not unfounded, as evidenced by the arrest of four heavily-armed Colombians in Edmundston in September. Those arrested in Edmundston carried an arsenal of automatic weapons, and one Colombian citizen arrested in Saint John, planned to break their associates out of the York County Jail. The scheme included throwing a grenade to blow a hole in the jail fence to gain access to the building.

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Daily Gleaner newspaper clipping about security measures taken for Colombian prisoners.
1 April 1989
Fredericton, N.B
AUDIO ATTACHMENT


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Interview with Paul Wayne Stewart - "We had the Colombians. They were guys that had flown a plane into New Brunswick and crash landed and they spent a long time with us, almost 8 or 9 months before they actually got to trial. During their time, the security at the institution was just unbelievable. There were people there at times with machine guns and things watching them and then there was an attempted escape. A bust out was going to occur where five other Colombians had come from far away to break these guys out and I guess we were all very fortunate that they were caught before they got to us or there would have been a lot of killings taking place."

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A picture of Allan Legere taken from the Moncton Times Transcript newspaper.
3 May 1989
AUDIO ATTACHMENT


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Allan Legere was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of murdering an elderly shop keeper in Black River Bridge, a sentence he was serving at the maximum security prison in Renous, New Brunswick. When Legere escaped from RCMP custody in May of 1989, citizens had reason to worry. His arrogance caused him to ask, "If I am so chicken and dumb, why couldn't over 100 of Canada's finest, with dogs and SWAT teams find little ol' moi?" Legere spread terror throughout the Miramichi area before he was finally apprehended on November 24th. Legere was convicted of four counts of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
During his trial at the Burton Court House and his subsequent appeal, Legere was held at the York County Jail. It was imperative that Legere not escape a second time, so many new security measures were put in place.

Paul Wayne Stewart - "Another famous, famous person we had was Allan Legere. He spent a long time, a whole spring and summer with us while he was going to trial here and the security of course again at that time was very intense. We had him down in segregation in the basement with two cameras in his cell. Two officers sat outside that particular area and monitored the cameras and him 24 hours a day the whole time he was there. The cell door was never opened unless there were two sheriffs, two correctional officers and two to three RCMP present, and he was always handcuffed and shackled because the word was if he escaped then don't come to work on Monday because you won't have a job."

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The reinforced door of Allan Legere's cell with pass through closed.
2 September 2004
668 Brunswick Street, Fredericton, N.B

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Allan Legere was placed in a solitary confinement cell, also known as the hole, in the jail's dungeon despite the fact that this area had been deemed inhumane.

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A picture taken from inside Allan Legere's former cell.
2 September 2004
668 Brunswick Street, Fredericton N.B

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From this angle you can see the window facing the cell in which Allan Legere was kept. It was blocked up in order to prevent communication between him and other inmates in the exercise yard.