Prison inmate escapes from New Amsterdam Hospital

After spending almost a week at the New Amsterdam Hospital, a 22-year-old convicted prisoner removed his foot cuffs and successfully escaped from the institution early yesterday morning.

Lyndon Flavius of First Street, Bartica, according to reports, put his plan into action when the prison officer guarding him left the ward to go to the lavatory.

Stabroek News understands that the prisoner escaped around 2 am. He remained at large up to press time last evening.
Contacted yesterday Director of Prisons Dale Erskine confirmed that the prisoner had escaped.

He said Flavius, who was serving a three-year sentence for break and enter and larceny was hospitalized after “an assault”.
Sources told this newspaper subsequently, that the prisoner and another inmate were involved in a fight last week, during which Flavius was injured.

According to Erskine, the prisoner “escaped some time this morning while under the supervision of an officer”. He said that an investigation has been launched into the escape, which follows on the heels of several others.
Flavius was scheduled to be released in 2010.

Sources told this newspaper that the prisoner was shackled to his bed and shortly before he escaped, the officer had left to go to the washroom.

It is unclear how the man managed to free himself or if he was seen leaving the ward or building by other patients or the nursing staff on duty.
Over the past two months, four prisoners including two murder accused managed to escape custody even though they either were handcuffed or under security watch.

Of the four, one escaped prison officials while the others were in police custody when they took off.
The latest prisoner to escape was Shawn Yhap who made a dash for freedom on August 2, while playing steel pan at the Cheddi Jagan International Airports with other inmates of the Camp Street Prison.

Yhap, who was serving a sentence for the larceny of a motorcycle, which would have ended in November, was recaptured several days later on the East Coast Demerara.

On August 14, moments after he was sentenced to one year in prison, Sherwin Glen, 19, ran out of the Wales Magistrate’s Court and escaped into the nearby cane fields.

At the time of his escape, he was being escorted to the Wales Police Station lock ups and was handcuffed.
However later that day, he returned to the station in the company of an uncle. He was subsequently charged with escape from lawful custody and sentenced to one year in jail.

Then on July 30, 20-year-old murder accused 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 is with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) awaiting 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.

There is also the case of multiple murder accused Jermaine `Skinny’ Charles who in June managed to squeeze under the loose floor boards of a 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 Agricul-ture Minister Satyadeow Sawh, his siblings and security guard and the brutal slaying of five Kaieteur News pressmen.

Following the escape, several police officers who were on duty at the station at the time were transferred.