The police yesterday issued wanted bulletins for two other inmates believed to have escaped on Sunday afternoon during the Camp Street prison unrest, but last night withdrew one of the names stating that the prisoner had been accounted for.
Meanwhile, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum has said that several measures have been put in place to recapture the escapees, who may now be four in number.
This development came less than one day after the police confirmed via wanted bulletins that Mark Royden Williams and Uree Varswyk were two of the escapees. Two others had been identified yesterday by the police as Stafrei Hopkinson Alexander and Sherwin Nero also known as Sherwin Moses called “Catty”.
However, hours after the release of these two bulletins yesterday, Public Relations Officer of the Guyana Police Force Jairam Ramlakhan related last evening that Nero had been positively identified and accounted for by a senior prison official.
At the time of their escape, the prisoners were said to be armed.
When contacted yesterday, Blanhum informed Stabroek News that several measures including the establishment of countrywide roadblocks had been put in place in an effort to recapture the prisoners.
He said that apart from the roadblocks, the police have been working along with intelligence operatives. He also said that they have informed their overseas counterparts including the neighbouring countries to be on the alert.
Additionally, he said, several searches were conducted in various communities.
Stabroek News understands that following their escape, the inmates hijacked a car which was later found at North Ruimveldt. The driver of the car had not been located up to last evening. (See story on page 13)
Meanwhile, police reported the arrest of another inmate, Shawn Collins, 20, of Ketley and Drysdale streets, Charlestown around 1.15 am yesterday.
Collins reportedly slipped through the cordon on Sunday evening. He was spotted by the police on patrol duty at Hadfield Street and was promptly apprehended.
Other information reaching this newspaper was that inmate Dennis Williams called ‘Anaconda’ may have assisted with the escape plan. As such, he is expected to be questioned by the police today.
Up to late yesterday afternoon, officials from the prison service were conducting head counts to determine if all of the over 1,000 inmates who were housed at the Camp Street jail had been accounted for.
Escapees
According to information retrieved from the Stabroek News archives, Williams had previously attempted to escape lawful custody while Alexander had escaped and was later recaptured.
In a press release, the police confirmed yesterday afternoon that Alexander, 32, was wanted for questioning in relation to murder and escape from lawful custody (Georgetown Prison).
Alexander, also known as “Anthony Williams” and “Ratty,” whose last known address was Laing Avenue, Georgetown was on remand for the murders of Linden businesswoman Shevon Gordon in April 2015; Richard Remington between February 9 and February 12, 2015, at Cholmondeley Hill, Wismar, Linden and his co-accused in the murder of Gordon, Robin Maxwell Thomas.
Alexander had escaped from the Mackenzie Police Station in December 2015 while on remand for the murder of Gordon. He was recaptured and charged with the two other murders.
Mark Royden Williams, called `Smallie,’ of Friendship/Buxton, East Coast Demerara (ECD) and Dennis Williams called `Anaconda,’ were both convicted on the lesser count of manslaughter on charges stemming from an attack at Bartica in which gunmen had killed 12 persons.
Varswyk of Lot 30 Church Street, Zeskenderen, Mahaicony, ECD was recently committed to stand trial for murder. He is accused of being involved in the murders of Guyana Geology and Mines Commission engineer Trevor Abrams and security guard Wilfred Stewart during a raid at the Sterling Products Limited (SPL) offices at Providence in 2014. He was committed to stand trial for the murder of Abrams on June 30 this year and in November 2016 for the murder of Stewart.
Anyone with information that may lead to the arrests of these inmates are asked to contact the police on telephone numbers 225-6411, 226-1389, 227-2128, 226-7065, 225-2227, 225-0575, 911 or the nearest police station.
