2 Prisoners, Including an Accused Murderer, Escape Through Window at High Court
A daring escape from the High Court earlier today has stunned many in the judiciary, exposing the vulnerabilities of the existing justice system. This morning, three persons were taken over to the Courtroom Number Three, including accused murderer Hildebrandt Codd and Jesse Mejia. Inside the adjoining jury room, the men were relieved of their handcuffs and made to wait until their matter was heard. Somehow, the men were able to climb through the open window of the jury room and escape from custody and no one inside the courtroom was aware of what had happened. News Five’s Isani Cayetano was at the courtroom this morning, awaiting a decision in the murder trial of Hildebrandt Codd when he learned of what had transpired. Here’s our first story.
Densmore Bowman
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
Shortly before nine o’clock this morning, a pair of men, shackled at the wrists, alighted from a prisoner van and was escorted to Courtroom Number Three, the chamber of High Court Justice Ricardo O’Neil Sandcroft. As they made their way toward the building adjacent to Battlefield Park, one of the inmates was greeted by his children, before being frisked by a security guard on duty. Together, the men entered the empty courtroom where they were led to another section of the building that is reserved for jury deliberations. They were then uncuffed, left alone and made to wait for an hour before the proceedings began. In the case of thirty-six-year-old Hildebrandt Codd, he was there to learn his fate, as he stands accused of the murder of Densmore Bowman.
During that time, Codd and Jesse Mejia, who was also in the jury room, saw an opportunity to liberate themselves from custody. Freed from their shackles, each man climbed through a window in the jury room and made good his escape, while we all sat in the courtroom waiting for the session to begin. Logged in remotely, Tiffany Cadle was also waiting for a verdict to be handed down in the murder case of her sibling.
Tiffany Cadle
Tiffany Cadle, Sister of Deceased
“I couldn’t believe it. I’m still trying to figure out how it happened, honestly, I can’t. We were all here with my mom, my brother, everybody. We were here sitting down waiting and then I get the text message and we were like that’s impossible. How could that have been?”
It was a daring escape from inside the High Court. Upon learning what happened, at least two theories were shared with the sitting judge. It was believed that the men got away in a boat that was docked nearby. It was also theorized that they went in separate directions after climbing through the open window.
Tiffany Cadle
“Now he comes to court on the morning of the verdict and wah-lah, he just escapes through a window, nowhere to be found. This is a frustrating situation for me, but even more so for people who work the system, and yes, I am a lawyer, I guess everybody knows that but I have to speak as well because the prosecution, the Crown Counsel, Mr. Riis Cattouse, he did everything. He put his all out in this case with me and they have for a long time been advocating, asking for proper security, asking for things to change, for things to be done differently at the court, at the high court level. These people aren’t protected.”
Immediately following the flight, police officers from various branches of the department descended on the location. By then, however, the men were long gone. I shared with the responding officers this image that I captured of the duo when they arrived at court, in order for the police to know exactly who they were looking for.
Tiffany Cadle
“If proper security was in place at the High Court, this would not have happened. Now all of us have to be in fear of our lives because he knows who we are, this gentleman has nothing to live for. He is a cruel human being, he is a heartless individual. This gentleman, the way he murdered my brother, he has no soul. There was nothing, there was nothing in him and he has no reason to not want to harm me or harm members of my family or even harm members from the prosecution if he should get the chance to do so. There is nothing to stop him.”
Jesse Mejia has been captured by police in Belize City. Codd remains on the run. Cadle appeals to anyone who sees Hildebrandt Codd to contact the authorities immediately.
Tiffany Cadle
“I am pleading to every single person that if they see him, if they know where he is to please let the police department know so that we can recapture this individual. He knows he was going to jail, he know he was going to get sentenced today and that’s the reason why he ran. That’s the reason why he ran.”
Isani Cayetano for News Five.
