Emmanuel Willoughby Gets Additional Jail Time for Escape

Emmanuel Willoughby

After more than a week under police guard at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, tonight twenty-five year old Emmanuel Willoughby is back behind bars. Willoughby was serving a five-year jail term on a conviction for Keeping a Firearm without a Gun License, but on December thirteenth he escaped from the Central Prison.  On Tuesday, Willoughby was discharged from the hospital and handed over to police. Today, he appeared before Magistrate Hettie Mae Stewart where he was read a single charge of escape. Willoughby, who appeared unrepresented, indicated to the court that he would plead guilty if the Magistrate was lenient, but for the record, he pleaded not guilty to escape. For the charge, he was remanded to prison until March twenty-fourth. Police led a man hunt for Willoughby in the Cayo area after it was reported that he was hiding in the west and allegedly involved in at least four robberies while he was on the run. But before police caught up with him, Willoughby skipped the west and was hiding in Belize City when he was found him on Arlington Drive where he was shot twice, once in the arm and leg. Prison authorities say Willoughby escaped from prison by sawing through the cell door. Back in 2009, Emmanuel Willoughby was one of six persons charged for the murder of Randy Coye. He later saw the charge of murder withdrawn as he turned the crown witness and was given immunity in exchange for his testimony against the other men he was charged with. His testimony was later rejected on the grounds that he was an accomplice, which resulted in the five other men being acquitted. Willoughby may face charges for the robberies committed in Cayo.