Puga charged; case will go to Supreme Court
There may have been some initial confusion over the legal technicalities surrounding the unauthorised release of three inmates from Hattieville prison on Saturday night … but today the wheels of justice were turning, with some serious charges being levelled at a controversial law enforcement figure. News Five’s Janelle Chanona has the story from the courthouse.
Janelle Chanona, Reporting
At approximately eleven-thirty this morning, Deputy Chief Security Officer at the Hattieville Prison, Oscar Puga was formally arraigned on one count of Wilfully Allowing Prisoners To Escape and three counts of Contempt Of A Judicial Order.
Puga pled not guilty to the Contempt but Magistrate Dorothy Flowers refrained from taking any plea on the charge of allowing the prisoners to escape citing that under Section 42 of the Criminal Code, the offence is an indictable matter and therefore should be heard in the Supreme Court.
The thirty-two year old former police officer was offered bail of six thousand dollars, which was met in separate three thousand dollars bonds signed by his mother and sister.
Janelle Chanona
“Oscar you have anything you want to say?”
Oscar Puga, Charged with Allowing Prisoners to Escape
“No, not at this time. No comment at this time, when it’s time to talk I’ll talk.”
Keith Swift, Channel & News
“Do you think that you were set up?”
Oscar Puga
“No comment, no comment.”
Michael Peyrefitte, Puga’s Attorney
“The defence, Janelle, will be based in large part upon the evidence of the prosecution. Naturally at the point, as you all know, only charge sheets have been given to us. We don’t know what the basis is for those charges but as we get disclosure and as it goes along then we will know exactly what their position is in terms of their evidence to support the charges.”
According to Puga’s attorney Michael Peyrefitte, if convicted of wilfully allowing prisoners to escape Puga faces a possible sentence of ten years behind bars.
Michael Peyrefitte
“He’s looking at some serious repercussions if indeed he is found guilty of these crimes but all charges are serious and they are just charges at this point in any event, though.”
Janelle Chanona
“Mike as far as the public is concerned your client was out with there prisoners at a very late hour on a weekend. How will he attempt to, whatever the outcome of the case, how will he attempt to justify his actions that night?”
Michael Peyrefitte
“Well you see in terms of justification of that from a Kolbe Foundation Prison administrative angle it’s difficult if in fact he was out on an authorized leave then you cannot justify that. But the issue that I am concerned with is not the administrative aspect of it but the police aspect of it. In my view, it is not a criminal offence and what I have objection to is the fact that the police intervened in this matter, probably with their own axe to grind against Mr. Puga, and tried to piggy back on a situation so that they could get their pound of flesh. Administratively, if it is the position of Kolbe as it is taken by Mr. Skeen and Mr. Woods that there was no authority to do so then let Kolbe Foundation deal with the issue. It is not a police matter at all and should never have been a police matter.”
Janelle Chanona
“Oscar, have you heard anything from prison?
Oscar Puga
[shakes finger no]
But unofficially, word out of Hattieville Prison tonight is that Puga’s actions over the weekend are more than enough grounds for his immediate termination.
Around ten forty-five on Saturday night, Puga’s S.U.V. was stopped at the mile four checkpoint on the Western Highway. The prison officer was in the front passenger seat while remanded murder suspect Taedron Bennett was driving. The other two passengers were Bennett’s co-defendant Joseph Kee and Harry Trapp Junior who is serving a twenty-five year sentence for manslaughter. The case against Oscar Puga has been adjourned until January thirtieth. Reporting for News Five, I am Janelle Chanona.
Almost two years ago Puga had been dismissed from the police force following the disappearance of several thousand dollars seized as evidence in a case he was investigating.
