Six prisoners held for serious crimes yesterday morning attempted to escape from the Georgetown Prison but only one managed to scale the fence and he was eventually recaptured in Rasville as a result of quick action by members of the Joint Services.
The police last night said that the incident occurred at 3.45 am yesterday when the six – comprising murder and narcotics accused – managed to cut through a metal grill in the supposedly secure capital section and got into the compound.
Police identified the six as Paul Bagot, Dennis Williams called `Anaconda’, Royden Williams known as Royden Durant, Jermaine Savory, Wayne Archibald and Sherwin Moses also known as Sherwin Nero.
The police said that an alert prison officer observed them making efforts to scale the outer wall of the prison and sounded an alarm. Five of the escapees were recaptured in the compound while Moses successfully got over the wall and was recaptured in Rasville around two hours later. Sources say it appeared that he caught transportation to the area.
Moses, a high profile prisoner charged with the murder of Guyana Defence Force soldier Ivor Williams and Cove and John resident Kumar Singh, also reportedly had links to the now dead Rondell ‘Fineman’ Rawlins. He scaled the north eastern fence of the facility at around 4 am yesterday morning and was recaptured at 6 am.
Speaking to Stabroek News yesterday Director of Prisons, Dale Erskine, said that prison guards were on patrol when they heard an “unusual sound” and upon investigating they found the five men in the yard while Moses was seen scaling the wall.
He said that the guards immediately sounded an alarm and at the same time fired a warning shot which saw the five men in the yard surrendering. He said members of the Joint Services were immediately contacted and their response was excellent.
According to Erskine the six prisoners, five of whom are charged with murder and the sixth with trafficking in narcotics, escaped from the Capital Division of the prison by removing a bar from one of the windows. He said he would be unable to answer any question on how the prisoners removed the bar until the police would have completed their investigations.
While the escape bid had to be planned it appears that the prisoners did not have any outside help. Moses was found all bloodied following the cuts and bruises he would have suffered as he scaled the fence which has barbed wire at the top. It didn’t appear as if there was anyone immediately outside of the fence to aid their escape.
All six men are now isolated from the rest of the population and the prison director said the prison is on a “lock down”. When Stabroek News visited the area yesterday morning a few soldiers and police were seen in front of the prison.
Sources yesterday told Stabroek News that the prison authorities had gotten wind that there might be an escape bid during the holidays and they were on high alert.
Yesterday Erskine was high in praise for members of the Joint Services stating that almost 45 members arrived at the prison just after the alarm was sounded. He described the response as a “coordinated one” and described the work of the members as “excellent.”
The breakout of the men from the capital section is likely to cause consternation as it was another nearly successful escape from the prison and a sign of ongoing instability at Camp Street and lax security.
The country has been nervy about Camp Street ever since the 2002 flight of five dangerous prisoners who then spearheaded a crime wave of the likes never seen before by the country. One prison officer was killed and another maimed for life during the escape. An inquiry was held into this escape and a series of recommendations had been made to prevent incidents just like yesterday’s but Moses still made it over the fence and hotfooted it to Rasville before he was found. Another prisoner, Maxwell `Lunkie’ Melville, who had climbed over the fence some years before 2002 was never recaptured.
It was in June of this year the 22-year-old Moses was remanded to prison for the January slaying of Williams.
At the time of his appearance Moses, also known as Sherwin Nero and of Dennis Street, Sophia and Buxton/Friendship was charged together with the now dead Rawlins, Cecil Simeon Rambarran called ‘Uncle Magic’ and ‘Limpy’ and Royden Durant called ‘Smally’ for Williams’ killing. He had appeared alone as arrest warrants were issued for the other three.
Reports are that around 8:30 pm on the day in question several armed men ambushed a GDF vehicle returning to Camp Ayanganna from an administrative run in Berbice. The gunmen engaged the soldiers on the Railway Embankment Road between Church of God and Company roads, during which Williams was fatally shot and two others, a soldier and a Friendship woman, were injured.
That appearance was the second by Nero as on May 28, he was charged with the August killing of Kumar Singh called `Mango man’ at his Cove and John, East Coast Demerara home.
Durwin Wright, called ‘Rock Away’, of Vigilance South, East Coast Demerara was charged with the same murder on February 19, while 18-year-old Andrew Philander, called ‘Junior’ and ‘Gadget’ of 54 Middle Walk, Buxton, was also charged on February 25.
Williams, known as Anaconda, was charged in November this year with 12 counts of murder stemming from the February 17, 2008 Bartica massacre.
Royden Williams had been charged with the murders of 11 persons during the January 26, 2008 slaughter at Lusignan.
Twenty-one-year-old Jermaine Savory was charged with the murder at Agricola of Melissa Payne.
Yesterday’s escape bid by Moses and his confederates follows a string of others during the year by prisoners from various institutions, including hospitals.
It was only last month an escape bid by two inmates of the New Amsterdam prison was foiled.
The two men who attempted to escape were Lindon Flavious, who was recently sentenced to three years imprisonment for escaping from lawful custody and Rocky Profit, who is on remand for attempted murder and numerous robberies.
And in October a prisoner escaped from Ward B2 of the Georgetown Public Hospital.
Joel Fraser, called Quincy London, escaped sometime during the wee hours. Fraser was on remand for possession of narcotics and was admitted to the hospital for observation for a medical complaint.
Just before Fraser’s escape another prisoner escaped from the New Amsterdam Hospital on August 25. The 22—year-old convicted prisoner had removed his foot cuffs and successfully fled from the institution. Flavius of First Street, Bartica, who was recaptured and attempted to escape again in November, had reportedly escaped when the prison officer guarding him left the ward to go to the lavatory.
Flavius was recaptured by a mobile patrol on a New Amsterdam Street several days after.
Prior to this getaway four prisoners, including two murder accused had managed to escape custody even though they were handcuffed or under security watch.
Of the four, one escaped from prison officials, while the others were in police custody when they took off.
Shawn Yhap who was serving a sentence for the larceny of a motor cycle escaped on August 2, while playing steel pan at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri with other inmates of the Camp Street Prison. He was recaptured on the East Coast.
On August 14, moments after he was sentenced to one year in prison, Sherwin Glen, 19, ran out of the Wales Magistrate’s Court and escaped into the nearby cane fields. He was being escorted to the Wales Police Station at the time.
However later that day, he returned to the station in the company of an uncle and was subsequently charged with escaping from lawful custody and sentenced to one year in jail.
On July 30, 20-year-old murder accused Trevor Major escaped from a moving prison van after reportedly picking the lock on the handcuffs he was wearing. He was among several other remand prisoners who were being escorted to the Camp Street prison after making appearances at the Providence Magistrate’s Court.
Then there was the case of the now dead multiple murder accused Jermaine `Skinny’ Charles who in June managed to squeeze under the loose floor boards of a cell, shortly after an appearance at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court. He was gunned down by the joint services several weeks later at Kuru Kuru Linden Highway, along with Rondell `Fineman’ Rawlins.
