How did DMX escape from New York prison in 1986?
DMX sadly spent a lot of his troubled life behind bars, having been sent to jail more than 30 times. He made a habit out of entering prison, being released, and getting sent back again. But, one time, he didn’t actually get released before he tasted freedom. He broke out for himself.
X’s first stint in prison occurred in 1986, when he was only 15 years of age. He stole a dog from a junkyard, which was telling in the sense that many of his future offenses would also relate to dogs. He was sent to a juvenile unit in New York for a few months because of that one, but duly was released.
He didn’t enjoy freedom for very long following his release. He was sentenced again for another crime, but this time the punishment was much more serious. He was given two years, which, as would become clear, he wasn’t going to accept lightly.
During the December of 1986, the same month that he would turn 16, he and his cellmate in prison started plotting. They wanted to break out of their confinement, and they actually set about achieving their task.
The story goes that the pair gathered up whatever fabrics they could find, as it would be cold once they managed to make it outside. It was winter, after all, and they were being held in upstate New York. They’d need to stay warm.
DMX and his cellmate spotted an opening one day, so they went for it. The cellmate smashed a guard over the head, and they were surprised to find that he stayed down. As they made it through the facility, however, someone raised the alarm.
The young escapees managed to make it to the woods, albeit with dogs chasing them. It’s said that X ended up having to deal with one that caught up with him, beating it back until there was no fight left in the beast. X really did have a disturbing history with dogs.
The two criminals walked for three days, before eventually making it to the cellemate’s hometown in Upstate New York. There they hid in a friend’s basement, before the cellmate took off to go to his parents’ house. X apparently never saw him again, while he began to plan for his own journey home. After days in the basement, he set off again.
X eventually managed to make it home to Yonkers, where he met with his mother. She was not at all happy to see him, so he instead went to his grandmother’s house. But his mother eventually showed up with the police in tow, insisting that X turn himself in and face the consequences of his actions. He was sent back to see out his sentence, which he did. It made no real difference, of course, and the rest of his life would be spent maneuvering through the legal system.