Ex-policeman Elton Haynes, charged with the murder of Corentyne store owner Winston Ragnauth, has been sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for escaping from custody.
Haynes, 23, of Manchester, Corentyne, Berbice, was found guilty of the offence and sentenced last Friday by Magistrate Adela Nagamootoo at the Reliance Magistrate’s Court.
Haynes, who was a member of the Police Mounted and Canine Branch, was taken into police custody at the Central Police Station to aid with investigations into the murder of Ragnauth, 57, a shop keeper who was found with his throat slashed on November 7, 2012, at his, Lot 2 North Whim Public Road, Corentyne, Berbice business place.
Haynes reportedly escaped from the police station during interrogation around 7:30 PM on November 9, 2012, by jumping through a window and scaling a fence.
Police were later tipped off that Haynes was hiding out in the Cumberland, East Canje backlands, where he was spotted by a search party. He was seen in a yard and was called upon to surrender but did not follow instructions and made a dash, which resulted in him being shot in his leg.
He was arrested and taken to the New Amsterdam hospital and later transferred to the Georgetown hospital for additional medical care. He was charged with the capital offence on November 21, last year.
