The relatives of Melvor Jeffery, who was allegedly shot by the police and then escaped from lawful custody while under guard at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) on Wednesday last, are pleading for his safe return, saying his condition is life threatening.
Jeffrey, 18, a mason of Kaneville, East Bank Demerara, was in custody following a police operation in Agricola, East Bank Demerara, on July 11. According to Commander of ‘A’ Division Marlon Chapman, the young man was held in connection with discharging a loaded firearm at the police.
Jeffery, who was shot several times allegedly by the police during the operation was taken to the GPH where he remained a patient until he escaped around 2 am on July 19. Stabroek News understands that the man escaped from the hospital after noticing the policeman guarding him was not at his post.
According to the police commander, the policeman who was guarding the injured man is currently under close arrest assisting with investigation. He explained that from preliminary investigations the policeman left his post to attend to something and when he returned he noticed the man missing.
Information reaching Stabroek News stated that Jeffery had removed the medical paraphernalia that was attached to him and escaped.
This newspaper was told that the hospital is carrying out a separate investigation and is also assisting the police with theirs.
Meanwhile Peggy Jeffery and Gisele Jeffery, the mother and sister of the teen are asking for the public’s assistance in finding him.
Peggy told Stabroek News that she believes her son is innocent and was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The mother said that on the day of the shooting, her son was in the yard at his girlfriend’s place in Agricola smoking, when he heard gunshots. She said he told her that he ran to hide as he saw a man running through the yard to hide also. She said the police saw her son and shot him twice in his back after he pleaded with them not to shoot.
Peggy said that when she first heard of the incident, she received conflicting reports that her son had died, but she travelled to the GPH and found him in a serious condition. She said he pulled through after a surgery, which saw the removal of the bullets that were lodged in the region of his lungs. He was later moved to the male ward, where he was handcuffed to the bed and guarded by the police; tubes were attached to his body.
He could die
According to Peggy, on the day of Jeffery’s alleged escape, she and her daughter had gone to the hospital to visit him, but when they got there they learnt that he was missing. “… They tell us that he pulled out the tubes and escaped earlier in the morning, they didn’t call us and tell us nothing” the mother said.
Peggy said that the information about her son’s escape did not match with how she left him the previous day. “How he could escape when he was under police guard, his hand handcuffed to the bed, a set of nurses right outside, security downstairs, and he pulled out a tube from his lungs that helps drain off fluids? They have to know where my son is because I left him in the care of the hospital and the police,” the distraught mother said. “My son is wounded badly and that incision in his body where the tube was pulled out from could be infected and he could die.”
According to the mother of the wanted man, the police are of the opinion that she knows where he is.
“I don’t know where my son is. He has not contacted me,” the mother said. “My son is still in need of medical attention and I don’t want anything else to happen to him. I am just pleading with the public that if anyone see my son let me know or call the police. This is three days now he missing. I just would like to know where he is, if he living or he dead.”
Peggy or her daughter can be contacted on telephone numbers 694-3578 0r 695-4771.
Wanted
The police issued a wanted bulletin for the teen yesterday afternoon. The bulletin stated that Marlon Jeffery aka ‘Melvor Jeffery’ is wanted by the police for escaping from unlawful custody. His last known address is Lot 120 Agricola, East Bank Demerara. He was held for the possession of firearm and ammunition and two counts of discharging a loaded firearm. Anyone with information that may lead to Jeffery’s arrest is asked to contact the police on telephone numbers 225-6411, 225-8196, 225-2227, 227-1149, 226-7065, 911 or the nearest police station. All information will be treated with the strictest confidence, the bulletin said.
