(Trinidad Guardian) Just one prisoner remained at large Monday night, after five of them escaped from the Golden Grove Prison in Arouca on Sunday night. One was recaptured on Sunday, while three were recaptured Monday evening.
A report said a prison officer was conducting routine checks at Dormitory Four around 10. 30 pm when he noticed a sheet of galvanise flapping on the roof on the southern side of the jail
A check was done and it was discovered that five inmates were unaccounted for. Four others were reportedly prevented from escaping.
Prison officials identified the prisoners as:
Kevin Jagdeo, of El Socorro, who is serving a sentence for breaking and larceny.
Anthony Seepersad, of Chaguanas, serving a sentence for larceny of a motor vehicle.
Kurien Douglas, of Woodbrook, in jail for robbery with violence,
Shaquille Drayton, also known as, Jabari Williams, of Bayshore, Marabella, and also of Loogie Street, Siparia, jailed for assault
Theon Thomas, of Penal, convicted for housebreaking and larceny.
Jagdeo was recaptured on Sunday night.
Thomas was held during the search yesterday after the police received a tip-off that the prisoners were seen in the Caura Valley. Members of the search party, which included prison, police and Defence Force personnel, were in that area all day yesterday.
Kurien Douglas and Shaquille Drayton were recaptured around 7.45 pm and 8.20 pm respectively in the Dinsley/Tacarigua area. They were both taken to the Arouca Police Station where they were to be charged with escaping lawful custody. Law enforcement were said to be closing in on Seepersad last night.
Speaking to Guardian Media, National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds said, “I’m very, very concerned, as Minister of National Security, on behalf of the people of Trinidad and Tobago, that men were able to escape from our nation’s prisons in the way that it occurred. I received a preliminary report from the Commissioner of Prisons. I was just in communication with him and he informed me that two of the five have been recaptured and that there’s an active inter-agency force out there between the Defence Force, the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, particularly officers from the Northern Division and, of course, officers of the Prison Service.”
He added, “We will visit the prison tomorrow to see first-hand where these individuals made good their escape. And all of that will form part of a very thorough report from which lessons must be learned in order to prevent future occurrences. In this regard, a prisoner also escaped from the Mount Hope Hospital, so we will also visit this facility to see exactly how and where and that will include the investigator from the Police Service and the investigator from the Trinidad and Tobago Prison Service, in order to put the pieces together – all with a view of ensuring that lessons are learned and that there is no repetition of this.”
Acting Prison Commissioner Deopersad Ramoutar meanwhile said, “The inmates accessed through the roof, they got through the BRC wiring and they were able to raise the galvanise and they camouflage the sound by opening a pipe in one of the showers in the dormitory, but my prison officers did hear the noise and they responded but unfortunately they did not hear when the first five was getting away but they were able to stop any other inmates from escaping.”
He said he has to ensure from the prison administration side that there was no negligence on the part of his officers and also the prison has to look into developing a better roofing system to prevent any recurrence.
However, Prison Officers’ Association president Ceron Richards, said the prison administration must take the blame.
He said, “Golden Grove is a very dilapidated prison which was an old barracks used to house soldiers back in the day. When you have these old infrastructures and you are not upgrading this happens. All of those dormitories need to be demolished and rebuild. If you put high-risk inmates there what you expect, they will look at the opportunity to escape.”
