A fugitive robber who was sent back to jail after he waged a bizarre ‘Catch Me If You Can-style’ war of words with Manchester police over Facebook has gone on the run again.
Darren Wright, 27, was let out of prison early in time for his birthday despite spending three months at large earlier this year. He failed to comply with the terms of his parole and is now wanted again.
During his previous spell on the run, Wright took to social media to boast ‘you ain’t gonna get me’ after officers posted a police mugshot of him accompanied by the message: ”Come on down to the Nick and we’ll get you a room sorted.”
During a rant on his own Facebook page which he then posted to officers, Wright, from Flixton, Greater Manchester said a ten-man squad from police Tactical Aid Unit which had been sent to track him down were wasting their time.
He also claimed the squad were looking in the wrong places, bragged: ”Good luck your gona need it” and said they should use ”fast wips” – slang for high-speed patrol cars if they were going to catch him.
He even joked he was holed out on the Isle of Wight and might be sailing off to France in a rubber dinghy.
At the time his taunts provoked officers into doubling up their efforts to find Wright and they arrested him on April 2 during a raid on a house in Eccles, near Salford where he had been hiding out with friends.
He was due to complete a three year, nine month sentence for robbery and vehicle theft but was let out again earlier this month on parole.
Today Greater Manchester Police said: ”Darren Wright, was recalled to prison on May 16 2014 after failing to comply with the terms of his licence.
”Wright had been released from prison after serving a three year, nine month sentence for robbery and theft of motor vehicles. He is believed to have links to the Flixton, Stretford, Eccles and Beswick areas.
”Anyone with information on Wright’s whereabouts is asked to call police.”
The first chase began after Wright was freed early from jail in June last year. He became the target of a manhunt when he broke the terms of his early release.
Police carried a string of raids on homes where they thought Wright was hiding out but they could not find him and posted their ‘Wanted’ message on Facebook on Jan 28 this year.
But in response Wright posted his slang-infested message on March 4 saying police should use a 202mph Mitsubishi Evolution X to chase him rather than use Audis and Subarus.
He posted: ”All you police goin to all these gafs 10man up in tau vans dont bother coz u aint gona get me ur lookin in the wrong areas.
”Lookin all over my facebook and then raidin gafs lol i know ur gona be reading this so good luck your gona need it and your gona to be getin your fast wips out if your gona try and even get anywhere near me.
”And you already know your unmarked audi s3 and your subaru sti cant catch me #gmp you need to bring out your evo 10 and then its equal so youve got a better chance.”
When one pal posted a message saying: ”How’s the Isle Of White goin Wrighty ??,” Wright added: ”Wheather is abit windy wez mite go over to france on me dingy and sky jones :-D:-D lol.”
”Fuk sake a4 tdi quattro thats wat gmp had out last nite tryin to catch me lol ur boring me now #gmp. If that comes behind me im slammin me car in reverse and disabling it.”
Another pal joked: ”When I saw him yesterday he saId he was on his way to Wales in a 1.1 ford fiesta in bright pink.”
Wright left no further messages and remained on the run for a further month before being held on April 2.
Later officers hunting him later posted two tweets on their Twitter account with the hashtag #don’tchallengeuswewillwin.
The first tweet said: ”A 26-year-old male wanted for recall to prison wrote on GMP’s Facebook page saying he knows he is wanted and the challenge is to catch him.”
The second read: ”We rose to the challenge, did a few inquiries, arrested a short time later & sent straight to prison on remand!#don’tchallengeuswewillwin.”
Last night a Ministry of Justice spokesman said: ”Offenders on licence must comply with a strict set of conditions to protect the public – and if they don’t, they face going back to prison.
“We have toughened up sentences for offenders who go on the run after being recalled to custody and these criminals can now face an additional two years in prison.”
Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures, with thanks
