David Sweat

David Paul Sweat (born June 14, 1980 in New York ) is an American burglar, murderer and prison escape.

Criminal career

According to the police, David Sweat is considered a professional burglar and planning talent. At the age of 16 he stood before the judge for attempted break-in and served his first prison sentence for another break-in the following year. During a cell search, prison staff also found a note on him for future break-ins.

He is also believed to have broken into a gun shop in Delaware County , New York on April 25, 2002, in which seven firearms were stolen. According to a witness, Sweat was said to have scouted the store the month before.

On July 4, 2002, he and his cousin and another accomplice broke into a gun shop in Susquehanna County , Pennsylvania, and stole several guns. On a stopover in Broome County , New York, they were surprised by Sheriff's Deputy Kevin Tarsia. Sweat and his cousin shot Tarsia multiple times and ran him over in a car. One of the murder weapons came from the break-in in April 2002. They then stole some items from Tarsia's patrol car and his service weapon.

After multiple leads and an intensive investigation, Sweat was arrested on July 6th and pleaded guilty of murder on July 21st in the court. He had fired the first shots and was behind the wheel of the car that ran over Tarsia. During the investigation, Sweat and his accomplices were also found to have stolen four vehicles. The police also found a sketch of the gun shop with Sweat's fingerprints in a trash can. Sweat was sentenced to life imprisonment with no parole and was transferred to the Clinton Correctional Facility in Clinton County , New York, in 2003 .

He managed a cinematic escape from Clinton on June 6, 2015, the first breakout since the prison was established in 1865. Sweat had cut a hole in its 6 mm thick cell wall with saw blades and thus got into the mechanics room behind it. From there he cut another hole in the cell wall of the convicted murderer Richard Matt . The two then escaped through a cut open heating pipe and escaped to freedom about 120 meters from the prison through a broken manhole cover. Sweat had spent hours digging almost every night for several months on this endeavor.

Twelve prison workers, including the prison superintendent, were fired after the outbreak. In July 2015, a prison worker was found guilty of assisting her to escape and sentenced to between two and seven years in prison. She had a sexual relationship with one of the inmates and smuggled the escape tool into the detention center. For the murder of her husband, she wanted to help the two of them escape with her car in return. Also charged is a prison guard who allegedly granted illegal perks in exchange for information about other inmates, Sweat and Matt.

About 1,500 officers took part in the search for the two murderers. On June 28th, Sweat was shot and arrested by a police officer just two miles from the Canadian border. After receiving medical attention, he was taken to the Five Points Correctional Facility maximum security in Seneca County , New York. His accomplice had been shot dead by a task force two days earlier.

In February 2016 he was sentenced to an additional prison term of three and a half to seven years and a five-digit fine for fleeing.