A prisoner now at the centre of a manhunt after escaping from Risdon Prison has a history of fleeing custody.
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Graham John Enniss escaped from police custody at 8.30am on Monday and was last seen heading into bushland near Geilston Bay.
Police are searching the area in an attempt to locate Enniss.
Enniss was involved in a violent escape bid from the Devonport Magistrates Court in 2010 and spent 10 days on the run after he fled from the back of a police car in 2011.
In 2010, the 38-year-old pleaded guilty and served eight months' jail for attempting to escape from custody and two counts of assault.
The charges related to an incident on September 21, 2010, when Enniss had been remanded in custody by a magistrate in Devonport.
As he was being placed in the prison van, Enniss assaulted two corrections officers in a bid to escape.
The sentencing judge Justice Alan Blow said this allowed for a second prisoner to get out of the van.
"That man was a lot more violent that you were," Justice Blow said.
"He punched one of the officers to the face .... and punched that officer again, and head butted and bit the other officer.
"You did not commit those assaults, but you made it possible for the other prisoner to do so by what you did in attempting to escape.
"The fact he was able to do what he did is a consequence of your crime."
Justice Blow, said Enniss had "a terrible record."
"You do not have many convictions for crimes of violence, but there is a notable exception on a night when you shot a man, and pointed a gun at a woman," Justice Blow said.
Enniss was again jailed after he pleaded guilty to five counts of assault upon his partner Jocelyn Smedley which occurred over a period of 24 to 30 hours on May 29 and 30, 2011.
At the time of the "horrific ordeal" the pair were living together in Smithton.
When police were notified of the incident and came to the house, Enniss was arrested and driven to Smithton Police Station where, on arrival, he jumped out of the car and ran away.
Between his escape on May 31, 2011, and his arrest on June 10, he committed a number of burglaries and other offences.
Although he was initially sentenced to three years' jail for the assault of his former partner, Enniss successfully appealed against this sentence which was reduced to 18 months' prison with a non-parole period of 12 months.
In handing down their comments for allowing the appeal, the Court of Criminal Appeal noted Enniss first went to prison in 1999, when he was 17 years old, for a number of burglary and stealing charges.
"Since then he has been to prison many times, usually in relation to crimes of dishonesty, but also in relation to driving offences," the Full Court said.
"In June 2007 he was sentenced to three years six months' imprisonment for a number of crimes and offences, including wounding, aggravated assault, and assault."
Following his escape on Monday, police warned the public not to approach Enniss and, if seen, to contact police immediately.
Enniss is 180 centimetres tall, of medium build, and has 'thug' tattooed across his neck.
He is wearing black pants and a green prison-style shirt.