GRAND FORKS, ND (Valley News Live) – A man in Grand Forks County police custody is now facing additional charges for allegedly planning to escape from his hospital room at Altru.
Collin Posey is charged with escape, possession of contraband suitable for escape and criminal damage, in addition to charges of burglary, criminal damage and evading apprehension during a standoff in Grand Forks on July 22.
According to court documents, police received a tip on July 28 that Posey was planning to flee.
According to police, a butter knife was found in a wall mount above Posey’s hospital bed, and the hospital phone was unplugged and in his pillow. An empty tape dispenser with a jagged edge was also found in the sheets of Posey’s hospital bed, according to court documents.
Officers transported Posey back to the Grand Forks County Jail without incident. A follow-up investigation revealed that 55 calls were made from Posey’s hospital room between July 24 and July 28. According to police, 43 of those calls were to a woman he claimed was his girlfriend and several others were to a woman he claimed was his sister.
“Collin made calls in the hours before GFPD received information that he was preparing an imminent escape attempt and had become agitated in the hospital room,” court documents state.
Maintenance personnel at Altru discovered that the railing Posey was tied to had been sawed off. Altru Health says it would cost $1,123.71 to repair the damaged railing.
Posey was arrested on July 22 after an hours-long standoff with Grand Forks police, the SWAT team and the FBI at an apartment complex. He was wanted on two federal warrants and five Grand Forks County warrants.
According to officials, he was wanted for his alleged involvement in a criminal conspiracy involving the distribution of large quantities of fentanyl-laced pills and methamphetamine between Minneapolis and the Spirit Lake Reservation in North Dakota.
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