The long arm of the law finally caught up with a repeat offender who escaped from a Magistrate's courtroom and spent two weeks on the run.

Sidney Carl Pitt, 48, will be spending 27 months in prison for committing a slew of offences dating back to 1995.

Pitt, of Frolic Lane, Southampton, yesterday pleaded guilty in Magistrates' Court to escaping from lawful custody on May 6 and receiving stolen jewellry.

Pitt slipped unnoticed from the back of Senior Magistrate Will Francis' courtroom on the morning of May 6 as he waited to have his case heard.

He had been escorted to court by Police after being held in Hamilton Police Station.

Prosecutor Sgt. Anthony Mouchette said Pitt was recaptured by Police on May 20 after being discovered in a carpenter's shed on the grounds of Admiralty House in Pembroke.

Pitt told Police he had been hiding out in the Spanish Point area for the first ten days of his escape and in the shed for the last four days.

At the time of his arrest, Pitt was found in possession of a pouch which contained $2,415 worth of jewellery.

Pitt claimed he bought the jewellery from a man for $100 and was planning to give it to his mother for Mother's Day.

Mr. Francis ordered Pitt to spend four months in prison for escaping from custody and 12 months for receiving the jewellry. Both sentences will run concurrently.

Pitt also admitted yesterday to possessing heroin and cocaine on October 14, 1995 in Pembroke.

Police spotted Pitt sitting on a bucket with a brown paper bag in a parking lot on Union and Court Streets and searched him, finding two film canisters and a paper twist in the paper bag.

Sgt. Mouchette said a total of 0.139 grams of heroin and 0.112 grams of cocaine were found in Pitt's possession.

Mr. Francis ordered Pitt to spend six months in prison for possessing the heroin and three months in prison for possessing the cocaine.

Both prison sentences will run concurrently. They will not be activated until after Pitt serves his 12-month sentence for escaping custody and receiving the jewellery.

Pitt also admitted possessing, at night, housebreaking instruments on September 17, 1995.

Pitt was caught by Police after being seen running from the Liberty Theatre in the Bermuda Industrial Union headquarters at 1.30 a.m. on September 17, 1995.

Pitt had a black bag which contained tools and a flashlight and he was also wearing a white sock on his hand.

Mr. Francis jailed Pitt for nine months. The sentence will run consecutive to his other two terms.

Sidney Pitt