Handcuffed man bolts from Wales court after jail sentence

Moments after he was sentenced to a year’s imprisonment, a 19-year-old Patentia, West Bank Demerara man yesterday bolted out of the Wales Magistrate’s Court and escaped into the nearby cane fields.

Police gave chase but failed to apprehend Sherwin Glenn. Up to press time last night he had not been found.
He is the third prisoner to have escaped while in police custody in the last two months.

The man made his dash for freedom around 12:30 pm seconds after Magistrate Hazel Octive-Hamilton had sentenced him to prison, when he appeared before her for several matters.

Stabroek News was informed that the magistrate sentenced Glenn to one year imprisonment for unlawful wounding. He pleaded not guilty to a charge of simple larceny and was told that he had to return to court next Thursday to answer to a charge of assault causing actual bodily harm.

After adjourning the matter this newspaper was told, Glenn was being escorted to the court lock-ups by at a policeman when he dashed out of the court room. At the time he was wearing handcuffs and he managed to run into the cane fields located a short distance away.
This newspaper understands that ranks pursued him but failed to catch him. Several weeks ago, murder accused 20-year-old Trevor Major escaped from a moving prison van after reportedly picking the lock on the handcuffs he was wearing. He was among several other remand prisoners who were being escorted to the Camp Street prison after making appearances at the Providence Magistrate’s Court.
The two policemen, who were with the prisoner at the time of the daylight escape which occurred near the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court, were placed under close arrest. Investigations were completed and the file was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice.
Major was charged last September with the murder of security guard Melvin Sancho whose decomposing body was found on a bed in his Supply, East Bank Demerara home.

Since his escape there has been no further sighting of him. There is also the case of multiple murder accused Jermaine `Skinny’ Charles who in June managed to squeeze under loose floor boards in his cell, shortly after an appearance at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court, and flee the area unnoticed.

Ranks only realized that he was missing several hours later when they were preparing to take the prisoners back to the Camp Street prison.
Charles was charged with several high profile murders including that of former Agriculture Minister Satyadeow Sawh, his siblings and security guard and the brutal slaying of five Kaieteur News press men.

Following the escape, several ranks who were on duty at the station at the time were transferred.
Another prisoner Shawn Yhap had fled from prison authorities at the Timehri airport while he was on an assignment to play the steel pan. He was recaptured several days later on the East Coast.