Fugitive Arrested After Leaving Hiding To Buy Call Of Duty

A fugitive was arrested after coming out of hiding to buy Call of Duty. Watch him assault officers before being arrested here:

On 13 January, Birmingham city centre PCs Mark Owen and Allison Brown noticed two men change direction upon spotting them on Martineau Way.

After asking why they were out and about during lockdown, one of the men replied: "I've come to get the new Call of Duty because I can't sit around in lockdown."

After PC Owen said he would be checking his details, one of the men kicked him in the groin before attempting to flee, but slipped and was grabbed by his man bag.

He subsequently punched PC Brown in the face, but was eventually handcuffed after officers used incapacitant spray (basically pepper spray).

It transpired that the name he had previously given was fake, and he was actually Clint Butler - a fugitive who had been serving a 17-year extended sentence, for crimes including robbery and firearms offences, due to finish in 2024.

He absconded from HMP Spring Hill open prison in Buckinghamshire at around midnight on 28 November 2020 and was listed as a wanted man by Thames Valley Police.

Following his most recent failed flee attempt, he was jailed for 13 months for absconding from prison, and six months consecutively for assaulting the officers.

West Midlands Police

Superintendent Nick Rowe hailed the work of PC Owen and PC Brown.

He said: "This was great work by our officers, acting on instinct that there was something not quite right and then challenging the men.

"The situation escalated really quickly, but both PCs put their training to good effect by restraining Butler, subduing him and getting him safely in handcuffs, while also calling for back-up from officers nearby.

"I'd like to thank the security staff who came to help our officers.

"It also shows the power of body-worn video, with the officers turning their cameras on before they started speaking to the men. It meant the whole episode was clearly caught on camera and there was no doubt about what happened.

"Quite why he decided to risk being returned to prison by making the idiotic decision to come into town during lockdown with a friend to buy a video game will remain a bit of a mystery."

Topics: Police, UK News, crime

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey