8 escape, 4 recaptured in Hattieville breakout
If the definition of news is an event that is out if the ordinary then the occurrence of a breakout at Hattieville prison comes perilously close to not being newsworthy. Nonetheless when word came in this morning of inmates on the loose, News Five headed up the Western Highway.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
For the second time, in less than a month, prisoners are on the run after breaking out of Hattieville’s Tango One building. The escape involving 8 men, took place around 1:50 this morning, when a prison guard noticed some movements on the compound.
Bernard Adolphus, Governor of Prisons
“While one of the senior officers were patrolling, he saw certain movements by the fence and they opened fire and hence we became aware that something is wrong.”
Jacqueline Woods
How did these men escaped from Tango One?
Bernard Adolphus
“They came out from the eastern section of the door. As you know there is an eastern side of the building, there’s a ricket there, an iron ricket door, which has a chain wrapped around it, with a padlock, a security lock. This is interesting to note that the cell was not damaged, but I think the lock was tampered with. Subsequently it was easily opened, by opening the lock, moving the chain, those who wanted to escape, went out.”
Adolphus says at this time they do not know if any of the prisoners were shot, but they have set up several roadblocks with the assistance of the police and the BDF. Of the 8 prisoners who escaped, only 4 remain at large. They have been identified as; 16-year old Lionel Henry, who was on remand for handling stolen goods, 24-year old Salva Carballo serving 9 years for escape and robbery, 26-year old Alvin Lopez who was serving 5 years for escape and burglary and 21-year old Ernesto Salazar who was serving 12 years for 5 counts of robbery. According to Bernard Adolphus, Governor of Prisons, of all the prisoners, who remain on the run, Carballo should be considered the most dangerous due to a previous conviction for attempted murder.
Jacqueline Woods
“There seems to be a problem with the Tango One building, weren’t there any officers on duty at the time of escape?”
Bernard Adolphus
“Yes an officer was on duty at the time, but all these buildings have a number of prisoners now, right…so the prison is overcrowded. So we just sort ourselves out and beef up the security, instead of just having one man work at that particular area, we might have to put two at a sacrifice of the other programs that we are doing. Once you have a guard on program, hospital duties, court duties, escort duties and gang duties, it takes away from our security, the real security aspects that we have to do. So we have to slow down on certain programs and beef up the security until added straights can be given to us.”
Jacqueline Woods
“In this particular incident, you all don’t suspect that an officer may be involved?”
Bernard Adolphus
“No I don’t think an officer is involved…it just happen.”
However, initial reports suggest that the escape didn’t “just happen”, but that an officer was taking a snooze when the inmates slipped out. Minister of Prisons, Dickie Bradley says it is time to crack down on a number of parties.
Dickie Bradley, Minister of Prisons
“There has been some recommendations to the ministry and to the government that in fact that all of these senseless escapes and the possession of dangerous weapons should be added to the list of offense which needs whippings. In fact maybe we should whip some of the officers, who dare to go and sleep instead of doing their job up at the Prison Department.”
Adolphus would not say if an officer was asleep but did acknowledge that the officer who was on guard at tango one, was not aware that any of his inmates had escaped until he heard the call from the prison gates. One thing both Bradley and Adolphus agreed on is that tougher measures need to be in place for those inmates who dare to
escape.
Bernard Adolphus
“I have said it and I am saying it again, we have some violent prisoners here, and they are very aggressive. And if a man wants to get out, he will get out. I’m afraid that you might come back again because this time drastic measure will and may have to be taken. So far we have been trying to hold it down, we have some inmates, who don’t want to hold it down, it’s not all. We have some who just intend to give us a hard time.”
Two of the recaptured prisoners, Paul Garcia and Damian Marin, were found hiding in some bushes near the compound shortly after they escaped. This evening Ryan McKenzie and Gregory Sabal were picked up in the vicinity of Almond Hill near mile 10 on the Western Highway. One prisoner remains on the loose from the May 19th breakout. He is 23 year old Wesley Emmanuel, believed to be somewhere in the Toledo District.
