The shooting of four servicemen who were part of the initial search party after Friday’s Mazaruni Prison break was found to be the result of friendly fire, Director of Prisons Dale Erskine said yesterday. (See also story below )
And up to press time yesterday, the nine inmates who broke out remained at large but authorities ruled out that the men were outside the surrounding areas. Erskine told this newspaper last night that two prison issue shirts had been discovered on a trail and that entire area had been cordoned off.
Erskine told a news conference yesterday that all exit points had been cordoned off and he was confident that the joint services manhunt would bring speedy results. The authorities revealed that the escapees used sharpened instruments to engineer the breakout, but they discounted that the men had been armed with guns.
Although the men were not armed with firearms, Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee emphasised that they were still considered dangerous. He urged the local population of Bartica and other surrounding areas in Region Seven (Cuyuni/ Mazaruni) to give their unqualified support to the joint services. He also issued an appeal to the families of the escaped men to cooperate with the police and to make a report if they were contacted by any of the prisoners.
The names of the escaped prisoners are: Dineshwar Sooklall, Kenneth Richardson, Asrudden Khan C/D “Rocky,” Anil Sanichar, Ryan Rambharose, Trevor McLean, C/D “Footprint,” Alvin Shivnarine, Randolph Rodrigues, and Royston Reid, C/D “Knuckles.” Sooklall, Richardson, Khan, Rodrigues, Reid and McLean were all serving sentences for manslaughter; and Sanichar and Shivnarine were serving sentences for murder, while Reid was serving time for trafficking and Rambharose for larceny.
Erskine said that the initial report of the breakout had been made at 4.20 pm on Friday. Two guards had been overpowered at the brick prison housing 57 prisoners of the some 361 total prison population. The men then made their way out of the gate to the fence, where they were spotted by a guard, who raised an alarm. They threatened to chop the guard and then they scaled the fence. Immediately after the alarm had been raised a joint services response team was activated and within two hours there were between 20 and 30 ranks from the police and prison service on the ground. There were around 67 ranks on the ground yesterday.
Around 7.40 pm there were reports that four servicemen had been shot during a confrontation with the escaped prisoners. The four injured men – prison officers Philip Stevenson and Michael Hossanah and police constables Leonard La Rose and Richeland Blanhum – had been air-dashed to the city and admitted to the Georgetown Public Hospital. Erskine said yesterday that investigations had revealed that all four were wounded by friendly fire. The shooting took place around the Skull Point area. He said it was very dark and the men saw silhouette figures and one person fired, triggering an exchange. He said the men had not been in radio contact with each other but did have cellular phones; however he factored in the speed at which events unfolded.
Erskine said the authorities were 100% sure that it was a case of friendly fire, since the rounds used were consistent with the weapons that were being used by members of the search party. He discounted the possibility that the prisoners were armed, noting that they left the prison with sharpened instruments, including a chopper. Although there were daily searches for weapons at the prison, he said the prisoners were creative and a toothbrush or a piece of wood could be sharpened for use.
For Erskine it was too early to say whether the escape had been planned or spontaneous. He said they were still trying to verify whether the men might have received outside help. He did, however, note that two of the men were scheduled to be transported to Georgetown this week for medical attention. He did not name the men. He also mentioned that Rambharose had been scheduled to be released in July.
Despite the initial hiccup, Erskine was confident that the men would be recaptured. He said the joint services were competently dealing with the situation and all exit points had been cordoned off and intelligence gathering had revealed that the men were within neighbouring areas. He noted that most of the men were from Essequibo and it was believed that a few might be headed that way.
In November 2005, five prisoners escaped from the prison after ripping out wooden bars on their cell doors and cutting the chain-link fence of the compound. They were recaptured within days, however. There have been other escapes from the institution over the years as well. Erskine admitted that generally staffing had always been a problem and there had never been the recommended ratio of guards to prisoners. However, he said the prison was not overcrowded although it was understaffed by about fifteen guards. Minister Rohee said the general staffing of the prisons was a situation that was certainly under review.
Escapees Sooklall and Khan had offered guilty pleas last year for the rape and murder of schoolgirl Julie Sooklall on Wakenaam Island. They were sentenced to 25 years in prison each, while an accomplice who pleaded guilty to manslaughter was sentenced to 18 years. The trio, who had originally been charged jointly, killed Julie Sooklall some time between November 22 and 23, 2004.
Richardson, who is also known as Ricky Stephens, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2005 after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He had raped and killed a 75-year-old woman, Millicent Subechen, known as “Aunt Milly” at her home in 2001. Meanwhile, Rambharose had escaped from prison before, while serving his sentence in the city. He was part of the prison’s steel band and stole away while playing at a function.
Anyone seeing or knowing the whereabouts of the men is asked to make contact with the police on the following numbers: 225-8196, 226-6978, 226-1326, 225-3650, 225-6411, 225-6940, 225-6941, 333-2151, 229-2700, 268-2222, 444-6941, 771-4010, 771-4012, 911 or any police station. Persons can also contact the Guyana Prison Service on telephone numbers 225-6003, 226-8301 or 226-5855-6.
