Following an investigation into last Sunday’s attempted escape from the Camp Street prison by six high-profile prisoners, with one making it as far as Rasville, one prison officer has been interdicted from duty while lights have been placed around the capital division from which the men escaped.
Stabroek News understands that the prison officer’s interdiction is not directly linked to the escape attempt but because he had his cellular phone on him at the time. According to sources, during the investigation into the fiasco one officer provided information on the interdicted officer by writing in his statement that the man usually had his cellular phone on him and as a result he was interdicted. “But the man did nothing, he just had the phone to talk to his wife,” one source said.
And according to one source the men did not use the hacksaw to cut the bars but actually sawed a hole in the northern wall of the capital division. The source said it therefore means that the over one hundred prisoners who are housed in the division in a dormitory style arrangement knew what was happening but none of them reported anything to the prison authorities. It is understood that the prisoners’ beds are all in one line and they eat separately from the rest of the prison population.
According to one source while the division is used to house some of the more dangerous prisoners who are on remand only one officer guarded that area in the day and in the nights there was none.
From all indications the men sawed a hole in the wall during the night over a period of time. “They had to put back the boards they sawed out during the night so the prison officer wouldn’t see the hole in the day,” the source said. It is understood that following the escape bid the division is now guarded round the clock by three prison officers. The area is now well illuminated by the new lights that were installed.
Meanwhile, reports are that more prisoners could have escaped through the hole had not one of the four sleeping prison officers guarding the compound that night awakened from his slumber. It is understood that the officer awoke in time to see the last of the six exiting through the hole and he is the one who raised an alarm and alerted the others.
Stabroek News had been told that the prisoners had cut their clothing and made a long rope which they had planned to use to get over the high prison fence with its razor wire top.
Reports were that the men had made a long rope which they threw over the fence after tying the other end to the inside of the fence. Sherwin Moses was the only prisoner who had actually used the rope, but he was recaptured two hours later at Rasville. He sustained extensive cuts to his body from the razor wire.
Sources had said that when prison guards discovered the men in the yard, they did not immediately surrender; they fought with the four officers who first discovered them. It was only after warning shots were fired and the floodlights were switched on that the men surrendered. By this time, Moses had already scaled the fence and was on his way. It is not clear why prison officers did not pursue him immediately, but this newspaper was told that the officers were focused on preventing the other five from leaving the compound.
Since being recaptured the men have been placed in solitary confinement. Moses is reportedly bandaged up due to the extensive cuts he sustained while climbing over the razor wire.
Sources say that the men may appear in court sometime during this week in relation to their escape attempt.
The police had said that the incident occurred at 3.45 am on Sunday when the six murder and narcotics accused managed to cut through their cell in the supposedly secure capital section and got into the compound.
Police had identified the six inmates 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 had said that an alert prison officer observed the six 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 held in Rasville around two hours later. Sources had said that it appeared that he caught transportation to the area.
Moses is a high-profile prisoner charged with the murder of Guyana Defence Force soldier Ivor Williams and Cove and John resident Kumar Singh. He also reportedly had links to the now dead Rondell ‘Fineman’ Rawlins. He scaled the north-eastern fence of the facility around 4 am on Sunday and was recaptured at 6 am.
When he had appeared in court, Moses, also known as Sherwin Nero 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’ with Williams’s murder.
He had appeared alone as arrest warrants were issued for the other three.
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 Agricola murder of Melissa Payne.
