An expected court hearing Thursday for Gene Palmer, the New York correctional officer accused of aiding in the escape of Dannemora prison inmates Richard Matt and David Sweat, was postponed until Monday afternoon.
The move will allow Palmer, who is free after paying $25,000 bail, to bring in a new team of lawyers to defend him in the still-developing case that has grabbed international attention.
The attorneys and support staff at the law firm of Dreyer Boyajian, LLP, in Albany will represent Palmer moving forward, his original attorney, Andrew Brockway, said.
"I will continue to say he's a good person, and I wish him all the best," Brockway, told reporters Thursday. "The focus needs to be on capturing these two individuals. They're very dangerous individuals. This has turned this community upside down."
Investigators said Palmer slipped frozen burger meat to the convicted killers, whose good behavior behind bars at Clinton Correctional in Dannemora meant they could cook in their cells. Palmer, a longtime prison employee, worked on Matt and Sweat's cell block.
The beef, Clinton County district attorney Andrew Wylie said, secretly contained escape tools placed inside by alleged accomplice Joyce Mitchell.
Mitchell, a prison tailor shop seamstress, pled not guilty to helping the murderers. She allegedly had also agreed to be their getaway driver before backing out at the last minute. She remains jailed pending payment of a $200,000 bond.
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NBC News reported that in a sworn statement Palmer made to state police and the FBI, the officer indicated he took something of a shine to Richard Matt because the prisoner is a talented artist who gave the guard paintings. Matt gave Palmer tips on other inmates' alleged misdeeds, and Palmer provided Matt with paint and painting supplies, NBC News reported.
Palmer is also accused of letting David Sweat into normally off-limits areas like prison catwalks, investigators said. Palmer told the investigators he had no clue Matt and Sweat were planning an escape.
Clinton County district attorney Andrew Wylie acknowledged it is certainly possible that Gene Palmer was misled when he allegedly passed that beef containing prison contraband. There is still a large and complicated investigation still ongoing, Wylie reminded media outlets.
Matt dismembered a former boss and Sweat killed a sheriff's deputy. They should be considered extremely dangerous, and likely, desperate, New York State Police have said.
Meanwhile, Thursday was day 20 of the manhunt for the killers. New York State Police said 1,100 members of law enforcement continue combing the dense and marshy woods of Franklin County, New York.
"It's the busiest it's been up here in a long, long time," observed Robert Johnson, an 85-year-old Franklin County resident.
A discovery of DNA this weekend linked Matt and Sweat to a seasonal hunting cabin near the hamlets of Owls Head and Mountain View. There, it is possible the escapees could have stolen a gun and ammunition, New York State Police Maj. Charles Guess warned Wednesday.
Johnson said he and residents across the North Country hope the escapees are captured soon, and safely.
"The sooner the better," Johnson told necn. "I've had enough news and everything else. Let's get it settled if we can."
Anyone who sees Richard Matt or David Sweat should call 911 immediately, New York State Police have said. Others with information about their escape, or possibly suspicious events following the prison break-out, can call 1-800-GIVE-TIP.
So far, New York State Police have developed more than 2,400 leads in the case, they said Thursday, and have many investigators working to gather information on those leads.
