Convicted Killer and Two Other Criminals on the Run From a Derbyshire Jail

L to R Lewis Daniel Thornton, Daniel Gerald Ferris, and Rory Allen (Courtesy of Derbyshire police on Dec. 7 2020.)

A convicted killer and two other criminals absconded from Sudbury prison in Derbyshire, East Midlands, on Saturday and remain on the run following a police appeal.

Lewis Daniel Thornton, 29, who was convicted of manslaughter at Wolverhampton Crown Court in 2016 escaped with Daniel Gerald Ferris, 30, and Rory Allen, 33.

Thornton is white, of slim build, and six feet two inches tall, Derbyshire police said in an appeal issued on Monday evening.

He has blue eyes and brown hair. On his right wrist Thornton has a tattoo of “RIP Cobra,” the police said, and “Angel” tattooed on his left arm.

He has links to the Wolverhampton and Walsall areas of the West Midlands.

Ferris, who was convicted of robbery at Birmingham Crown Court in 2018, is white, of medium build with blue eyes and brown hair. He has links to Birmingham, West Midlands.

The third man, Allen, was convicted of offending in relation to the supply of cocaine and heroin at Worcester Crown Court in 2018. He is black, of slim build, and like Thornton, is six feet two inches tall.  He has black hair, brown eyes, and a black moustache. He has “Tug” tattooed on his right arm and has links to Birmingham, Walsall, and Wolverhampton.

The prison that the three absconded from is a Category D facility for men, which means the inmates are considered a relatively low-security risk.

“These prisons have minimal security and allow eligible prisoners to spend most of their day away from the prison on licence to carry out work, education, or for other resettlement purposes. Open prisons only house prisoners that have been risk-assessed and deemed suitable for open conditions,” a GOV.UK website says.

Nevertheless, police said that none of the three criminals should be approached by members of the public.

They have appealed for anyone seeing any of the three men, or for anyone who knows where any of them are, to contact Derbyshire police immediately quoting reference “906 of 5 December.”

Contact can be made with the police via private message on Facebook (/DerbyshireConstabulary), on Twitter (@DerPolContact), via the police website (http://www.derbyshire.police.uk/Contact-Us), or by phone on 101.

Alternatively, information can be passed anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.