Hells Angel escapes from Laval minimum security prison

Quebec provincial police are asking for the public's help in finding René Charlebois, a Hells Angels member who escaped from a minimum security prison in Laval, Que. Saturday night.

Charlebois was at the Montée St-François Institution for, among other charges, killing a police informant.

"Charlebois is a 48-year-old inmate that has been incarcerated since 2003," said Serge Abergel, a spokesman for Correctional Service Canada.

"He is currently serving an indeterminate sentence for second-degree murder, conspiring to commit murder, trafficking narcotics, trafficking Schedule I and II substances and participation in a criminal organization," he continued.

Charlebois was made a full-patch member of the Nomads chapter of the Hells Angels in 2000.

He has been identified by police as a close associate of Hells boss Maurice "Mom" Boucher.

Charlebois pleaded guilty to some of the charges in a 2003 Hells Angels megatrial in Quebec, and in 2004 to second-degree murder.

Prison guards noticed he was missing during head count just before 11 p.m. Saturday night.

Questions about why Charlebois was in a minimum security facility arose when news of his escape broke.

Abergel explained that the convict had been through several institutions since first being incarcerated in 2003.

"Generally speaking, only offenders who are assessed as having a lower risk to public safety are placed in a minimum security institution, and Corrections Canada will evaluate all offenders and place them in facilities that are appropriate to their security and program requirements," he said.

Charlebois weighs about 200 pounds, has brown hair and brown eyes and has his first name tattooed on his left arm.