POLICE were yesterday no closer to catching escaped convict Antonis Prokopiou Kitas.
Despite police assurances that the 42-year-old double rapist and murderer, more commonly known as Al Capone, was most likely in the free areas and would be caught, an associate has placed the high profile criminal in the occupied areas, it emerged yesterday.
Thirty-one-year-old Ioannis Menikou, who was in the car with Kita on the early morning of December 12 and later arrested, has allegedly told investigators he and Kitas parted ways at Potamia village, with the latter heading for the occupied areas. Menikou will go straight to trial for aiding and abetting in the prisoner’s escape.
A third man, 22-year-old Rodosthenis Christodoulou, who was also with Kitas and Menikou at the time of the escape, is said to have followed the 42-year-old to the occupied areas. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.
On Monday, Menikou appeared before the Nicosia district court. He faces six charges including aiding in the escape of a prisoner, conspiracy to commit a felony, possession of a gun, possession of a silencer, and two charges for possession of explosive materials including eight nine millimeter cartridges and 100 cartridges.
The court heard that Menikou has allegedly admitted to the charges regarding possession of a gun and silencer. He has also allegedly told police that he had known of Kitas’ plans to escape.
His statement contradicts other reports regarding what happened on the night of the escape. Sources close to the investigation said Kitas, sentenced to life imprisonment in 1994 for the rapes and murders of two women, had no intention of escaping. Having already served 14 years behind bars, the lifer could soon have hoped for parole. EU human rights watchdogs have been putting pressure on the government to introduce parole hearings for prisoners. Kitas was fully aware of this and would have not jeopardised his freedom, senior prison sources said. Instead, it was suggested that the 42-year-old had been planning to commit a robbery and then sneak back into the private hospital where he had been receiving treatment for gastric reflux for the past six months with his prison guards none the wiser.
“Had the police not shown up and seen him, he never would have escaped,” sources said.
But according to Menikou’s statement, this is not the case. The 31-year-old said he and Chirstodoulou had placed a ladder outside Kitas’ hospital room, which he used to escape.
Menikou is then said to have showed police the route that the trio took to Stassicratous Street where they ran into three patrol cars with whom there was an exchange of fire. The court heard that Menikou then went to Potamia with Kitas and Christodoulou where they parted ways. The 31-year-old allegedly said the other two had plans to go to the occupied areas, but that he did not want to join them. Instead he made his way to Dali on foot and from there went to Nicosia general hospital to visit his sick wife. He was later arrested.
Menikou will remain behind bars until his trial.
