Escaped DC Murder Suspect Not Evading Capture On His Own: Report

WASHINGTON, DC — As the search for a suspected killer who escaped police custody nears the end of its second week, Washington, D.C. police believe someone is helping the 30-year-old man evade police, according to a WTOP report.

At a Monday news conference, Assistant Chief of Investigative Services Carlos Heraud said Christopher Haynes is "not out there surviving on his own" after he assaulted an officer and escaped from The George Washington University Hospital while in custody on Sept. 7, WTOP reported.

"Anybody that we identify that’s assisted him in aiding and abetting us, fleeing from the area or harboring him, any charges that we can put on them, we will, because we know he’s not doing it on his own," Heraud said, according to WTOP.

• RELATED: Reward For Escaped DC Murder Suspect Grows To $30K: Police

Haynes was arrested Sept. 7 in Manassas, Virginia, in connection with the Aug. 12 murder of 33-year-old Brent Hayward of Gainesville, Virginia.

According to police, Haynes waived his right to an extradition hearing and was brought to the Metropolitan Police Department Branch to be booked and processed.

Police said that during processing, Haynes complained of ankle pain from a pre-existing injury. According to authorities, an officer took Haynes to The George Washington University Hospital for treatment. A second officer was also assigned to accompany Haynes, police said.

Shortly before 3:40 p.m., police said that while an officer attempted to cuff Haynes’ hand to a gurney, Haynes assaulted the officer and fled the hospital with one handcuff still attached to his right wrist. According to police, both officers chased Haynes but were unable to catch him.

The escape prompted a multi-agency search for Haynes and locked down George Washington University Hospital for several hours, according to police. Despite numerous tips and sightings, police said Haynes was not located.

In an earlier interview with WTOP, Haynes' mother asked what had been done to find her son's accused killer.

“Why can’t we catch him?” Sheila Jackson told the news station. "Are the same resources being put into catching Christopher Haynes as it is from the man who escaped in Pennsylvania?"

The search for Haynes coincided with a similar one in Pennsylvania, where authorities spent two weeks looking for escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante. Hundreds of law enforcement personnel spent days searching Chester County for Cavalcante on foot and by air. He was captured last week with the help of dogs and a heat-sensing plane.

Over the course of the search, authorities increased a reward for information leading to Haynes' capture to $30,000.

“I mean, $30,000 … that can take you a long way. Why don’t you want just to turn him in and get a piece of scum off the street?" Jackson told WTOP last week.

According to police, Haynes is a Black man who is about 6 feet tall and weighs about 205 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes with shoulder-length dreadlocks and a Washington Nationals tattoo on his neck. He was last seen wearing a black shirt, gray shorts and white socks with black handcuffs hanging from his right wrist.

Anyone with information on Haynes’ whereabouts should contact police at 202-727-9099. Anonymous tips can be submitted to the department’s text tip line by sending a message to 50411.