Prison official busted for taking out inmates
It’s no secret that in Belize and many other countries around the world some prison inmates are more equal than others. Those with money or influence can usually score a less crowded cell, perhaps a TV…even a cell phone. But tonight the foundation that runs Hattieville Prison is facing some acute embarrassment. The reason? One of the correctional facility’s top officials has been found cavorting outside the walls with two accused murderers and a convicted killer. News Five’s Janelle Chanona has the story.
Janelle Chanona, Reporting
Tonight the Deputy Chief Security Officer at Hattieville Prison, Oscar Puga, is charged for wilfully allowing prisoners to escape and contempt of the court’s judicial order after he was found in the company of three prisoners on Saturday night driving down the Western Highway towards Belize City.
Around ten-thirty on Saturday night, an anonymous tip took investigators to the police checkpoint at mile four. Approximately fifteen minutes later, this Chevy S.U.V. pulled up but it was the vehicle’s passengers that got the officers’ attention.
Superintendent Aaron Guzman, O.C., Crimes Investigation Branch
“Mr. Oscar Puga, Deputy Chief Officer at the Kolbe Foundation or the Hattieville Prison, and three prisoners, namely, Taedron Bennett and Joseph Kee who are on remand for murder and Harry Trapp Junior who is serving a twenty-five year sentence for a charge of manslaughter.”
Bennett was behind the wheel with Puga sitting in the front seat. Reports indicate that when confronted by police, the prison official told officers he was taking the inmates into the city to buy food. But cops didn’t buy their story and all four men were immediately taken into custody.
Superintendent Aaron Guzman
“We looked at the time of the night and the police questioned why the officer was out at that time of the night with the prisoners. Of course they were cautioned and the constitutional rights of a person must come into play at that stage and they chose to remain silent, they didn’t give any statements.”
The men were taken to the Queen Street Police Station, where Puga remains tonight. The prisoners were transported back to Hattieville on Sunday afternoon. The Director of Public Prosecutions has opted to charge all three men with Escape.
Saturday’s incident comes as no surprise as rumours and allegations of this kind of activity have been circulating for some time.
Marlon Skeen, Chief Executive Officer, Hattieville Prison
“It’s certainly sufficient cause to be fired no two ways about that. Whether he can be prosecuted criminally I don’t know, that is a matter for the legal people, for the D.P.P. But certainly it’s more than enough to get him fired, that’s a certainty.”
According to Chief Executive Officer, Marlon Skeen, the speculation prompted an internal investigation which also pointed to Puga.
Marlon Skeen
“Sometime ago which is in October we received quite credible reports that high profile inmates were seen in and around Belize City at odd times and these were not authorized because there’s only four people who could authorize inmates being out and around: that’s the Chairman of the Board which is Mr. Woods, myself, Mr. Jose Ack who is the chief of Security and the Chief Officer, he’s in charge of all the uniform staff for the prison and Mr. Oscar Puga who is the Deputy Chief Officer, he’s the second to Mr. Ack. And we did our relevant investigations etc., and to a large degree we narrowed it down to Mr. Puga, that something fishy was going on with Mr. Puga and the movement of inmates. Now it’s certainly not only Mr. Puga, there’s other officers involved also because seriously you cannot take somebody out of the prison and nobody knows so certainly other people were in on it.”
Janelle Chanona
“Will there be any repercussions for the prisoners?”
Marlon Skeen
“For the inmates I have them on lockdown. They are on lockdown in the Super Max simply because it if was an issue of bribery or of them paying for services, meaning being take out, that’s a very serious issue and that’s a very serious infraction within the prison and the fear is that they y might try it again with somebody else.”
Initial research into the law has revealed that inmates are only to be moved from the prison in the event of emergency medical care or on the strength of a warrant. Joseph Kee and Taedron Bennett are on remand for the double murder of the Brannon brothers while Trapp was serving a manslaughter sentence.
Marlon Skeen
“People will certainly be questioning who you could trust so most certainly it’s very damaging when you look at it like that, damaging to us, the prison, the country on a whole that people lose trust in institutions. I mean it’s not good at all.”
Janelle Chanona
“But as the manager, how do you attempt to rectify that?”
Marlon Skeen
“Well attempting to rectify, certainly Puga is going to be disciplined. I won’t say terminated because I don’t want to pre-empt myself but certainly that is definitely being looked at and then we need to replace him, either way he will be replaced in that task with somebody…the thing is Janelle you need to trust somebody, bottom line you have to trust people. And when you place your place your trust into somebody and you expect them to do that job and then they let you down, it’s a hurtful thing and you get a black eye. And how do you move on, you get up, you dust your self off and you take steps to ensure that it doesn’t happen again but being the human nature and being money what it is it is very difficult to stop or to predict.”
Puga will appear in Magistrate’s Court tomorrow morning where he will be formally charged. Reporting for News Five, I am Janelle Chanona
In November 2005, Oscar Puga was an inspector of police when he became the subject of an official probe. It was alleged that in the course of a robbery investigation he handled in February of that year, Puga received four thousand dollars as evidence in the case but never handed it in to his superiors. The Security Services Commission reviewed the findings of the investigation and decided to dismiss Puga from the Police Department.
