Months after walking through the front gate of the Georgetown Prisons, inmate Theon Smith jumped from the facility’s south eastern observation post (OP) in a daring attempt to escape yesterday afternoon.
Smith, a source close to the prison said, attended service at the Prison’s chapel yesterday afternoon. After the service was over Smith somehow made his way to the top of the OP located at the south eastern corner of the facility at John and D’ Urban streets.
“He left Church and went up to the OP [observation post],” the source said. “He jump from at the top there into John Street and fractured his leg.”
The inmate’s freedom was brief; a woman saw him limping along D’ Urban Street shortly after and immediately informed police.
The Georgetown Prisons, according to the source, has four OPs but at the time Smith attempted his jump to freedom they were all empty. Shortage of staff, the source said, is to be blamed for this flaw in the facility’s security.
“All the OPs were empty because there are not enough ranks to assign to them,” the source explained. “Right now Prison Officers are under pressure because they are forced to work 14 hours.”
After working such long hours and taking on the responsibility of four persons, the source explained, towards the end of their work day prison officers are not as alert as they should be.
“People don’t know what Prison Officers go through in there,” the source stated. “They just pray that they leave there at the end of the day alive.”
Meanwhile, there was no report of Smith being taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) for medical attention. Police had not issued a statement about the matter up to press time last night and Director of Prisons, Dale Erskine, could not be reached for comment.
“Your worship I din escape. De officer at de prison open de gate fuh let me fuh pass through,” said Smith, who also went by the name Theon Branche, had told Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson when he appeared before her on October 2 last year.
Smith was sentenced to 15 years in prison for number offences he had committed between August and October. The 18-year-old Annandale, East Coast Demerara resident had pleaded guilty to 13 counts of robbery under arms, escape from lawful custody, break and enter and larceny and attempting to commit a felony.
“Your honour I din commit dem offences. But I ain’t get a lawyer so I gon just plead guilty to all ah dem cause I ain’t want to be in de court so steady,” Smith had told the court.
Some of the VCs in the robbery under arms matters, where in some cases Smith had used a gun and in others a knife, were Sheliza Boswick, Tiffany Johnson, Niketa Hussein, Shannon McLennon, Leah Ping, Shelon August, Jullian Charles, Sandra Ramsarran, Sonia Jupiter, Natasha Nandalall, Nicola Persaud, Janelle Andrews and Vineta Ramchan.
When the prison time Smith should be spending was calculated last year, it totalled 61 years. However, the magistrate had ordered that all the sentences which Smith had received would run concurrently so he would only spend 15 years in prison.
This latest attempt to escape comes after a dramatic bid in December, 2008 by six others.
The prisoners held for serious crimes attempted to escape from the Georgetown Prison on December 28 but only one managed to scale the fence and he was eventually recaptured in Rasville as a result of quick action by members of the Joint Services.
The police said that the incident occurred at 3.45 am when the six – comprising murder and narcotics accused – managed to cut through a metal grill in the supposedly secure capital section and got into the compound.
Police identified the six as Paul Bagot, Dennis Williams called `Anaconda’, Royden Williams known as Royden Durant, Jermaine Savory, Wayne Archibald and Sherwin Moses also known as Sherwin Nero.
The police said that an alert prison officer observed them making efforts to scale the outer wall of the prison and sounded an alarm. Five of the escapees were recaptured in the compound while Moses successfully got over the wall and was recaptured in Rasville around two hours later.
In January this year another prisoner escaped; this time from in front of the Camp Street prison, where he was at work, sprucing up its environs.
Suresh Narinesingh was serving a three-year sentence for robbery under arms and was among others who were allowed outside the compound to do work.
Over the years the prison has suffered a number of embarrassing escapes and other problems.
